


In For a Penny

by Myoneloveismusic



Series: JayTim Week 2017 [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Couples Yoga, Dancing, JayTimWeek, M/M, Vacation, bed sharing, fake dating au, mild panic attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-02 13:58:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11510841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myoneloveismusic/pseuds/Myoneloveismusic
Summary: Tim is stressed from his job and ends up kicking a hole through the wall of his apartment, getting a very large eyeful of his neighbor. In order to make up for it, Tim agrees to be Jason's fake boyfriend at his wedding. Everything should be simple, right? Wrong. The two of them might end up liking each other a little more than they thought they would at the end of the week.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5 of JayTimWeek: Island Vacation
> 
> This is the long-ass fake-dating au that I've been waiting forever to be able to post and now it's finally here! Enjoy reading it because I had a ton of fun writing this monster of a fic!
> 
> This is also the last fic from me for JayTimWeek so have at it and show me some love. ^.^
> 
> <3 MOLIM

Tim pushed into his apartment roughly, letting the door fall shut behind him, not caring if it alerted the whole apartment complex to the fact that he was home from work. The only thing that he could even let himself think about or care about for that matter, was the huge project deadline that he had coming up in a little over a week. Usually, he was able to be completely calm about his deadlines and he knew that he had a great team behind his back that was there to support him and rarely made mistakes. Even if mistakes happened, the rest of the team was able to get on them right away and fix it before anything could go wrong.

He knew that the knowledge of the people behind him and his own skills and track record in the work place should have been enough to calm his fears and keep him from worrying and fretting over the deadline and the final outcome of the project, but this one was just so much more significant. This was the project that he’d been working towards for years. This was the project that would either make or break his career at W.E. and set him up for his future. This was the project that he _cared_ about.

Tim groaned and walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. He didn’t really have any idea of what he was going to do, but moving and expending as much nervous energy as possible seemed like a good idea. He’d left work in high spirits. Everything was on track and they were set to finish with more than enough time before the deadline if something bad was to happen, but that didn’t stop the anxious thoughts from taking over his brain on his ride home. The possibility of failure was all that he could focus on now. This project was going to end up ruining him and there was nothing that he could do about it.

He looked over the white, perfect wall of his bedroom with something akin to disgust. It wasn’t fair that such a wall could exist and mock him when his whole future was on the line. He growled and pulled his foot back before released a harsh kick at the plaster. The initial contact was so satisfying that it brought a smirk to his lips…until a light crunching sounded and his foot kept moving through the wall.

He heard a shout come from the room next door and Tim flailed his arms, trying to keep his balance since his foot was refusing to come out of where it was lodged in the wall.

“Sorry! I’m so sorry! I really didn’t mean to do that,” Tim said, bracing himself against the wall and gingerly working his foot free.

“So you just unintentionally kicked the wall? I find that a little hard to believe,” the man responded.

“No, no, no, the kick was entirely intentional. I wasn’t prepared for my foot to actually go _through_ the wall. I didn’t think that I was kicking that hard.” Tim heard a snort and kneeled down to peer through the whole that he’d just made. He squawked when he got a very, _very_ full view of his very _naked_ neighbor. “You’re naked!” he exclaimed, falling backwards onto his carpet.

The man snorted. “No, I’m Jason. And we’re going to have to figure out a way to get this hole fixed.”

Tim felt his face heat up, even more mortified about this whole situation. “I’ll make a call to the landlord. You can just… You can… Please put on some clothes.”

“If you hadn’t kicked a hole in my wall, I would still be fine to walk around naked and wouldn’t need them.”

Jason didn’t sound angry about that fact, but it didn’t do anything to help Tim’s mortification about the whole situation. Instead, he reached for his pocket, pulling out his phone and quickly dialing the number of their landlord. After the first time his shower went haywire, he’d put the number in his phone. It was much better than trying to dig around in his junk drawer to find where he put the little slip of paper with the number on it.

“Jeff speaking,” he answered after the third ring.

“Hi, Jeff. This is Tim from apartment 5D. There’s been a bit of an…incident,” he said, wincing when he looked over the hole in the wall again.

“What type of incident are we talking about? Because the way you said that has got me nervous.”

“Well…”

“Just tell him about the damn hole!” Jason shouted from his room.

“There’s a bit of a hole…in my wall…and in the wall of apartment 5B.”

“That’s sounds like it’s more than just a ‘bit of a hole,’” Jeff said, obviously amused by Tim’s discomfort. “I can be up in about fifteen minutes to talk to you and the resident of apartment 5B.”

“Great, thanks,” Tim finished lamely and hung up. He sighed and buried his head in his hands. This day just didn’t cease to keep getting better for him.

“Look, it’s not that bad. You really don’t need to worry about it.” Tim started at the voice and whipped his head around to look at Jason who was peeking through the hole in their shared wall. He could thankfully see that he was now wearing a shirt which made Tim feel slightly better about the situation. He didn’t need to get distracted by how obviously muscular he was.

He shook his head. “I’m just stressed, that’s all.”

Jason nodded. “I’m guessing that this,” he said, gesturing to the wall, “was your way of working out your frustrations?”

“A bit. I didn’t realize that I was kicking that hard.”

“Well, I would hope that kicking holes in walls wasn’t going to become a hobby of yours. I’d hate to have to call up Jeff every time a new one showed up. Plus, I’d have to start wearing clothes around my apartment a lot more often.”

Tim felt his face heat up and he looked away. “I suppose Jeff is going to want to talk to you. It might be better if you came over so you don’t have to talk through the hole in the wall.”

“Aw, but don’t you think it adds so much to the conversation?” he joked.

Tim just quirked an eyebrow.

“Alright, I’ll be right over,” Jason said, moving out of view.

Tim sighed and pushed himself to his feet. As much as he’d like to hide away from his landlord and his neighbor, that wasn’t exactly an option. He just hoped that this was going to be taken care of as quickly as possible and that he wouldn’t have to deal with this much longer. He could go back to his life of not knowing how attractive his neighbor was because that would only lead to bad things. And his train of thought needed to stop there.

He headed towards his front door as a knock sounded and pulled it open quickly. Jeff was standing there with a much taller man behind him. Tim was pleased that Jason was now wearing clothes, but it didn’t help that the jeans he was wearing fit him like a glove and his shirt was pulled tight across his chest, leaving little to the imagination. Not that Tim hadn’t already seen everything that was hidden underneath. And he really needed to stop reminding himself of that fact.

“Come on in,” he said, stepping to the side and letting them both through. Jeff walked purposefully towards his bedroom to assess the level of damage that had been caused and Jason hung back to look over Tim.

“You’ve got a pretty strong kick for such a short dude,” he commented.

Tim’s eye twitched and he let the door shut gently. “Keep that up and I’ll let you become acquainted with just how strong my kick is.”

Jason chuckled and followed Tim towards his room. Jeff was already kneeling on the floor examining the wall.

“Seriously, how did you manage this?” he asked, disbelief clear in his voice. “I’m going to need about a week to get all of the supplies that I need and get this taken care of. It shouldn’t be a huge hassle, I’ll just need some time to get the plaster and get this covered and painted on both sides of the wall.”

“I’m really sorry about this,” Tim said, shuffling awkwardly.

Jeff shook his head and stood up. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get this taken care of. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and order the supplies. I’ll keep to daytime working hours and should be in and out of the apartment while the two of you are at work so I won’t be in your way. Let me know if you need anything else though. And try not kick any more holes into the walls. I’d like for this to only be a one-time occurrence.”

Tim watched him walk out and ran a hand through his hair, disturbing the careful styling job that he took every morning to ensure that he was presentable for work. He turned to Jason who was still next to him. “I’m sorry, again. If there’s anything that I can do to make up for this just let me know.”

Jason waved off his comment. “It’s really no big deal. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Tim hesitantly nodded, still feeling like he needed to something to make up for disturbing his life for the next week and seeing more of him than he probably should have.

“I’ll just let myself out and see you later.”

“Okay.” Tim watched him retrace his steps through his apartment and waited until he heard the door shut before he sighed. This had definitely proven to be one of his more interesting days of late. He slowly unbuttoned his jacket and let it slip from his shoulders, leaving him in his light blue, button up shirt that he’d worn to work that day.

He sat down on the edge of his bed and distantly heard the sound of a door being opened and closed, before footsteps sounded lightly on the floor. He looked over to the hole and realized that was going to take some getting used to on both of their parts for the next week. He bent over and began to unlace his dress shoes, happy that he could finally pull them off.

Shooting one last look at the wall, he pushed himself off the bed and gathered a change of clothes to take into the bathroom. Maybe a shower would prove to be just what he needed to rectify the absolutely hectic day that he’d had.

~~

Tim arranged his various pillows behind his back and leaned back against them in bed, his computer next to him with Netflix pulled up and the latest microwave dinner that he wanted to give a try. He was about to start the latest episode of the show he was watching but thought better of it, reaching for his headphones instead. He wasn’t planning on having his audio turned up to annoyingly high levels, but he didn’t know what Jason was doing next door and didn’t want to end up bothering him.

He plugged them in and was just about to stick them in his ears when he heard a low ringing coming from next door that had him pausing.

“Hey, Dickie, what’s up? Did you need something?” Jason’s voice came through clearly.

Tim hesitated, he knew that he wouldn’t want people listening in on his private conversations, but his neighbor had become a new and interesting part of his life since that afternoon. He let his headphones fall to the side and picked up the plastic tray that held his food instead.

“No, I haven’t forgotten about your wedding. I’m flying out in a few days.”

“Yeah, I know that you want everyone there the entire week and I’ll be there.”

“Seriously, with all of the questions you’re asking me, I can’t imagine why Wally would want to marry you.”

“It comes with the territory of being your younger brother. Stop, complaining.”

“Boyfriend? Wait, Dick-“

“No, I’m not done talk-“

“DICK! DON’T HANG UP-DAMN IT!!!”

Tim nearly jumped at how loud his voice got. So his neighbor had a boyfriend and his brother was getting married. And to top it all off, it sounded like a destination wedding. That sounded nice, getting a week of vacation for a relative’s wedding. He could really use a vacation. As soon as his deadline passed, that is.

“What the fuck am I going to do now? And since when does Dick think that I have a boyfriend?” Jason grumbled not solely to himself. “What am I going to do about this-wait a minute…that’s it!”

Tim heard him run across his apartment before the door was pulled open and slammed shut behind him, he was wondering just where the hell is was off to in such a hurry when a frantic knocking came at his door. Carefully, he set his dinner to the side and pushed himself out of bed. He approached his apartment door with something akin to dread. He had a very bad feeling about this whole situation.

When he pulled his door open he came face to face with a grinning Jason. He did not like where this was going at all. “Jason?” he asked.

“So you know how you said that you’d be willing to do anything to make up for the whole kicking straight through the wall thing today?”

“Yes,” he said slowly, immediately regretting his response when Jason’s grin widened.

“Here’s the thing…my brother is getting married next weekend and for some reason my whole family thinks that I have a boyfriend and won’t listen to me when I try to explain that I don’t in fact have one. So, if you want to make up for kicking a hole through our shared wall, how about you do me a favor and pretend to be my boyfriend?”

“Wait-what?” Tim asked, weakly.

“It’s a destination wedding so you basically get a whole week of vacation time in Florida which means sun and beaches.”

Tim’s mind raced. First of all, there was no way that he could pretend to be someone’s boyfriend for a whole week, but he had his project deadline the week after. He didn’t have time to take off and go prance around Florida.

“Jason, I-I can’t!”

He stopped and pouted. “Why not?”

“For one thing there’s no way that I can pretend to be your boyfriend for a whole week!”

Jason waved off his comment. “Please, you’ve seen me naked. Pretending to be my boyfriend should be a piece of cake.”

Tim made an indignant noise and immediately felt himself flush. “Second, I have a project that’s due for my work a few days after when I’m assuming the wedding is. I can’t just up and leave for a week when I need to make sure that everything runs smoothly and remains on track for the deadline! This is an important project for me and I can’t risk messing it up!!”

“You have a team of people working with you on this right?”

Tim blinked at him. “Uh, yeah, but how did you-“

“Then it shouldn’t be a problem. You can still stay in contact with them. The hotel that we’re staying at is going to have wi-fi so you can skype and email and share documents to your heart’s content. If you trust them enough to get their work done and there’s nothing you absolutely have to be there in person for, then I don’t see what the problem is.”

“The problem is that I have a deadline and this project could make or break my career so I need everything to work out perfectly!” Tim exclaimed, frustrated that Jason was just not understanding.

“Look,” Jason said, putting a hand on his hip in the sassiest way that Tim had ever seen, “based on what you’ve been telling me, it sounds like your project is completely under control and that it’s going to get done on time whether you’re going into the office every day and doing your work there, or keeping in contact with your team and reaping the benefits of a little vacation. You can take some time to de-stress now and then give the people under you some much needed vacation time when you get back. If a true emergency happens and you need to be in the office it would only take you a couple of hours to get back by plane.

“Basically, you have the resources to be my fake boyfriend for a week and get this super important project done and set you on the perfect career path for the rest of your life. This is the one and only time that my brother is getting married and for some reason, my entire family and future family-in-law is expecting me to bring my boyfriend that they’ve created in their minds somewhere along the way. Not only is Dick going to be disappointed on not being able to meet you, but I’m going to have to suffer at their hands for a whole week. Now can you please, _please_ be my fake boyfriend?”

Tim floundered for something to say. He honestly had no idea how to argue Jason’s points because they were all valid. “All expenses paid?” he questioned, hesitantly.

Jason’s grin returned in full force. “Everything is covered. You don’t have to spend a penny and I’ll even cover the flight if you need to get back to Gotham in the event of an emergency. So..we have a deal?”

After a long moment, Tim finally nodded and stepped to the side of his doorway. “You should come in, I’m sure that we have a lot to talk about before we leave. I need a crash course on you and the travel details. I’ve got a lot of things to get in order before we have to leave.”

Jason strode past him and headed straight for the kitchen. “You might want to put some coffee on. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

Tim sighed wearily and shut his door. This was going to be a long two weeks, projects and deadlines notwithstanding.


	2. Chapter 2

The days leading up to their flight to Florida passed by in a blur, Tim tried to take in as much information about Jason as possible and wracked his brain for anything that Jason might need to know about him that would signal the two of them were in a serious relationship. He was glad that Jason had agreed to let him fly back to Gotham before Jason was going to leave Florida so that he had enough time to calm himself down before the deadline of his project.

His team had been blessedly understanding and a few of them had even told him that he deserved a break since he was working so hard. He argued that they were working just as hard as he was, but they simply brushed it off since he had so much more than they did riding on the outcome of their project. Tim didn’t entirely agree or disagree with that.

“Alright, we’re here,” Jason said, pulling Tim from his thoughts as the cab that they were sharing pulled up to the airport’s drop-off lane. “Ready to do this?” he asked.

Tim took a shaky breath. “As ready as I’ll ever be when it comes to lying to a bunch of people and pretending that the two of us are dating.”

Jason smiled and pulled Tim from the cab. “At least we’re not getting married in order to reap all of the benefits of the wedding.”

“Yeah, I’m really glad that this isn’t _The Proposal_. That would mean that I have to fall in love with you by the end of it.”

Jason held up a hand to his heart in mock hurt as he pulled their suitcases from the trunk. “I’m insulted that you don’t want to marry me. I thought that I would easily be the highest quality of fake boyfriends.”

Tim rolled his eyes and grabbed the handle of his suitcase and pulled it behind him as he headed towards the doors. “Whatever. You’re going to have to step up your game if you want me to fake marry you.”

“Wait up, Tim!” Jason said, hurrying up behind him. He caught up quickly, long strides eating up the distance between them and grabbed onto Tim’s hand, linking their fingers together.

Tim froze. “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

“We’re in a committed relationship. We should be comfortable enough that you don’t stiffen every time I move close to you or hold your hand. You might think you can hide those tells, but believe me when I say that my brother Dick will easily see through the act.”

Tim forced himself to relax. “Right. Okay. Let’s go then.”

Jason smiled as Tim tugged on his hand and continued walking towards their airline desk to get their tickets. Jason jumped into a conversation with the woman working the desk right away as they approached, giving her their names and showing his ID. She seemed surprised by his attitude but eagerly returned his conversation and took their bags without complaint, taking care of everything for them. Tim was grateful that he didn’t have to do anything and was ready to be on their plane so he could have the chance to not think anymore.

Taking his hand in his own once again and tangling their fingers together, Jason pulled Tim towards security and the line that was quickly forming there. They got in quickly and shuffled forward every few minutes as the line shifted.

“Here’s your boarding pass,” Jason said, holding out a slip of paper to him.

“Thanks,” Tim said taking it from his fingers and pulling out his wallet to grab his license. Flying domestically was so much easier than having to internationally and Tim was grateful for it. It would mean a lot less hassle if he had to up and leave during the next week.

“You go ahead,” Jason said when they made it to the front of the line.

Tim raised an eyebrow at him, but moved forward regardless, more than happy to get through security as fast as possible. It was almost as if Jason was worried that he was suddenly going to bail on him in the middle of the airport, which was ridiculous since he’d already agreed to go and they went through all the pain of learning as much about each other in the past week as they could.

He filled one of the available trays with his personal belongings and set his bag on the conveyor before stepping over to the metal detector. Tim thought back over the many sessions that they’d already had together. More often than not, Jason had practically pulled him into his apartment as soon as he stepped foot on their floor after work. He’d nearly been out of his mind from his project and was ready to collapse from exhaustion.

But Jason had been more than patient as they had worked through everything. He cooked almost every night, except for the time they ordered out for pizza since they were both tired and it was near the end of the week anyway. Some of it had even been fun. When Tim wasn’t thinking or reminded about seeing Jason naked, that is. It was a nice change from his usual sleep-deprived state.

Tim pulled his backpack from the conveyor belt and threw his shoes to the ground before stuffing his feet into them. He moved out of the way and turned to find Jason grabbing his own backpack and sliding his shoes back on as well.

“Glad to see that you haven’t run off and left me,” he joked, walking over to Tim.

Tim just rolled his eyes. “Come on, I need to find a Starbucks in this place and grab a coffee before our flight.”

“Didn’t you already have three cups this morning?” Jason asked, brow furrowed.

Tim started walking. “What’s your point?”

“My point,” Jason said pulling up beside him and throwing an arm over his shoulders, “is that drinking that much coffee is not normal.”

Tim shrugged, somewhat trying to push Jason’s arm from his shoulders, but it remained despite his efforts. He didn’t know how anyone could have such a heavy arm. “I like coffee, okay?”

“If there’s one thing that I want to make sure I achieve over this next week, it’s going to be getting you to kick your caffeine addiction. No more coffee from the hotel. I’m going to get it out of our room and not let any of the staff serve it to you.”

“Jason, you can’t!” Tim said, horrified. “And your main goal is to convince your family that we’re dating, leave my love of coffee out of this!”

Jason shook his head solemnly. “No can do, babe. I’m going to get you off coffee even if it kills me.”

“You’ll have to pry the drink from my cold, dead hands, you monster,” Tim said, elbowing him in the ribs and rushing over to the Starbucks counter.

“No, Tim, you can’t! The week hasn’t even begun and you’re already giving in to temptation,” he said hurrying after him.

“I’ll take a grande, cold-pressed coffee with a splash of milk, please,” Tim said to the woman working behind the counter.

“Coming right up,” she said, obviously amused as Jason came up behind him.

“No, Tim!” Jason whined.

Tim rolled his eyes. “And give him a green tea. It’s the only way that I’m going to be allowed to pay for this otherwise.”

“Will do. That’ll be $7.68, please.”

Tim handed over a ten-dollar bill and watched as she went about getting his change.

“So how long have you two been together?” she asked as she handed over his receipt and change before moving over to prepare their drinks.

Tim hummed as he put the money away. “Sometimes it feels like forever.”

She laughed. “It’s always nice to see such happy couples come through here. Where are you headed?”

Tim eagerly took the first cup that she handed over and was disappointed when it was just Jason’s tea. He took it from him with a pout and a look of betrayal, only earning another eye roll.

“We’re off to Florida for his brother’s wedding. Spending the week in a hotel and getting some nice vacation time. According to him, anyway,” he said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder.

“Oh, that sounds lovely,” she said, passing his larger cup to him. “A vacation is always nice and it should be great weather. Enjoy your trip!” she said with a smile and a wave.

“Yeah, thanks,” Tim said, returning her smile and lifting his cup towards her. He turned and walked past Jason who was still watching him. “Stop pouting and let’s go.”

Jason huffed, but followed after Tim and drank his tea.

When they reached their gate, it was pretty empty which meant prime seats next to the charging station as they waited. Tim wasted no time in pulling out his laptop and getting it booted up while Jason looked on with disgust.

“I can’t believe you’re already falling into work mode,” he said, pulling a book from his bag instead. “First the coffee and now the laptop.”

“Think of it this way,” he said, tapping out several commands on his keyboard, “the more work that I get done now, the less I’ll have to do during the week other than the occasional check-in emails and progress reports. That means a less stressed me and the more energy I can put forth in fooling all of your relatives that the two of us are in a committed relationship. Now be a good boyfriend and shut up and read your book.”

Jason huffed. “So bossy. Jeez, if this is how you are when you’re awake, I can’t imagine how dominating you must be in bed.”

Tim spluttered and nearly dropped his computer. “Jason! What the hell?”

Jason sipped his tea, uninterestedly and flipped to the next page of his book. “I didn’t say anything. I’m just here being quiet, drinking the tea you gave me, and reading my book. Shouldn’t you be working? You did say that you wanted to get as much work done now before the week as possible. I’m sure that Dick is going to work pretty hard to make sure that you’re involved in whatever he has planned. He’s been waiting a long time to meet you after all, especially since I’ve been so tight-lipped on the details of our _relationship_.”

Tim sent him a glare that he steadfastly ignored and grumbled as he returned to his typing.

Jason allowed himself a little smile. This week was probably going to end up being more fun than he originally thought.

~~

Tim wanted to be embarrassed. He really did. But…having someone to hold hands with and being able to lean into Jason’s side when he had an arm around his shoulders… And after being so touch-starved for so long and single for almost as long on top of that, it was refreshing to have some other form of human contact. Jason didn’t seem to mind indulging him too much, almost mindlessly reaching out for him whenever they’d gotten up to board their plane or when they were just sitting together. If he didn’t have his arm around his shoulders and Tim was shifting to get something or was trying to find a more comfortable position, then Jason was reaching for his hand instead.

Like how he’d done as soon as they were able to stand next to each other after stepping off of the plane.

“You said that we’re headed to the hotel right away?” Tim asked as they made their way through the airport.

“Yeah. There should be a car waiting for us after we get our bags,” Jason said, pulling out his phone to make sure that he hadn’t missed any calls from his family.

“Wow, your family sure isn’t sparing any expense. Even sending a car to come get you when we could just take a cab.”

Jason sighed, letting go of Tim’s hand to send a quick text. “That’s my dad for you. He honestly has no problem spending frivolously since he has so much money. That’s why it was so simple to have a week booked at the hotel before the wedding.”

“Geez, how rich is he?”

“Rich enough. He runs his own company so if that tells you anything...” Tim heard the slight irritation in his voice and knew better than to ask further questions. The topic seemed touchy and now that he thought about it, it hadn’t come in up in the past week. They’d surprisingly stayed away from matters of their respective families, focusing more on their personal details and interests.

He hummed but didn’t say anything further. They made their way down to luggage claim and found a spot amidst the crowd of people who’d also gotten off their flight and were waiting for their bags. It was a few moments before the horn sounded and the carousel began to turn, bringing up the first few bags.

Tim watched them pass by without any interest and spotted the people near the end of the line pull them off. He always wondered how lucky you had to be to get your bags first and beat the crowds leaving the airport.

“Oh, I think I see yours,” Jason said, pointing.

Tim looked and saw that it was his bag that was coming towards him. “You’re right,” he said, letting go of Jason’s hand and stepping forward to go retrieve it.

Jason gently grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. “No, I can get it.” He pulled the bag off quickly and set it down next to Tim.

“I can get my own bags you know,” Tim said, eyebrow raised.

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you get your own bags?” he asked, looking over the ones that had just been unloaded. “Oh, there’s mine.”

Before Jason could step forward, Tim was there, pulling his bag from the conveyor and giving Jason a smirk.

“Hey,” he pouted.

“Now what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you get your own bags?” Tim said, mockingly.

Jason pulled up the handle of his suitcase and took Tim’s free hand in his other one. “Keep that up and this week is going to have some interesting developments indeed.”

Tim chuckled. “Yup. Things are going to get really interesting when I’m going to spend most of the week in the hotel room on my computer. That’ll make things super competitive.”

“One thing that you’re going to learn about me very quickly, is that I love challenges and I love to be competitive. And you staying in the hotel room all week is only going to serve as _extra_ motivation.”

Tim swallowed thickly, mouth suddenly dry at all of the implications that Jason’s statement held.

“We should be just down here,” Jason said, leading them down the row of cars waiting outside the doors. “Alfred?”

“Ah, Master Jason. It’s nice to see you again,” he greeted from where he was standing next to an open car door.

“Did they really send you with a car to come and pick us up?” Jason asked, disbelief evident in his tone.

Alfred held up a hand, but a smile tugged at his lips. “I merely accompanied the driver. We wouldn’t want you two wandering around here all afternoon to try and find your car, now would we?”

“I suppose not,” Jason assented reluctantly.

“And this is?” he asked, turning to Tim.

Tim dropped Jason’s hand from his and held it out to Alfred. “Tim Drake. I’m Jason’s…boyfriend.”

Alfred smiled and shook Tim’s hand firmly. “Wonderful to finally meet you. Everyone is eager to get to know you back at the hotel. They’ve been looking forward to your arrival.”

“Oh,” Tim said, voice strained, “wonderful.”

“Let’s get going, shall we?” Alfred said, gesturing to the car.

“You go ahead and climb in the backseat, I’ll take care of these,” Jason said, pulling the two suitcases around to the trunk and lifting them in easily.

Tim slid into the backseat as Alfred took the front next to the driver. Jason joined him soon enough and as soon as his door was shut, the car was pulling away and headed back to the hotel. Tim stared out the window as they all sat in silence and watched as the scenery crept by. He was glad that everything was green, but it was also deceptive, belying the actual heat and temperature. The main streets and houses fell away to the beach and ocean and several hotels that had made their homes there. It shouldn’t have surprised Tim that they pulled up in front of the most extravagant looking one.

“You’re free to check-in at the front desk. I’ll inform your father that you’ve arrived,” Alfred said, climbing from the car ahead of them.

“Great,” Jason muttered before climbing from the car himself.

Tim took a steadying breath before he joined Jason at the back of the car. The heat and humidity hit him strongly after the cool air conditioning the car had provided. He was really thankful that he had packed so lightly. He stared intently at Jason’s back as they walked through the sliding doors and into the lobby. He reminded himself that everything was going to be alright and that he was prepared for this, no matter how daunting the situation seemed in that moment.

“Ah, Jason.”

Jason stopped and Tim forced his legs to stop moving just short of running into him.

“Bruce,” he said.

“I’m glad to see that you made it in alright.”

“Yeah we had a pretty easy flight. Which reminds me…this is my boyfriend, Tim Drake,” he said stepping to the side and the person who Tim came face to face with nearly had his heart stopping in his chest.

The situation really couldn’t get any worse. Not only was he pretending to be Jason’s boyfriend for a whole week, but he was going to by lying to the CEO of W.E. The CEO of the company that he _worked_ for. His _boss_.

“Mr. Wayne,” Tim said, the sound getting caught somewhere in his throat and coming out what he was sure was a strangled and garbled mess.

“Ah, Mr. Drake, nice to meet you officially. As my son’s boyfriend that is. How is your project coming? I do believe that the deadline is next week, is it not?”

“Yes-yes, that’s right. Everything’s on track and there should be nothing keeping it from being completed on time. I’m going to remain in contact with my team throughout the week to keep track of their progress. I would’ve preferred to be there in person, but with the circumstances…” he trailed off.

“Yes, well, I’m intrigued to see the final outcome in any case,” he said, sounding not at all impressed. “How did you two meet exactly?”

“We live next to each other. We’re in the same apartment complex and ran into each other several times in the hallway,” Jason lied easily.

“Right, well I do expect to sit down with you sometime this week, Jason. It’s been far too long since we’ve had a chance to talk.”

“Sure.”

Bruce looked them over one more time before turning on his heel and returning to the depths of the hotel. Tim turned to Jason with a look of absolute horror on his face.

“Why didn’t you tell me that Bruce Wayne was your father?” he asked.

“I didn’t want you to freak out. I know he’s a big figure and hoped that just knowing about his wealth would be enough,” he answered, sheepishly.

Tim whined in the back of his throat. “He’s my boss! I can’t believe I’m going to be lying to my boss for the whole week.” He gripped at his hair, feeling his panic rise.

Jason’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit.” 


	3. Chapter 3

“Okay, Tim, just calm down,” Jason said, gently pulling Tim’s hands from his hair and rubbing his thumbs into his wrists. “Let’s go check-in and then we can head up to the room and talk about this, okay?”

Tim made some sort of noise that he’d heard, but didn’t make a move. Jason wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him over to the counter.

“Yes I’d like to check into the room reserved for Jason Todd, please,” he said, hurriedly as Tim turned his face into Jason’s chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to keep himself from hyperventilating. The arm Jason had around his shoulders was tight and kept him close.

The attendant typed the information in quickly and nodded. “I’ll just need to see a photo ID, please.”

Jason bit back a curse and pulled out his wallet, fumbling for his license with one hand and sliding it over the counter. She picked it up and examined it closely, much to Jason’s annoyance and impatience. She handed it back to him and reached for a set of cards and an envelope scribbling something on the inside.

“You’re in room 516. Directions on connecting to the wi-fi are on the inside of this packet. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact the front desk and we’ll be more than happy to help.”

“Thanks,” Jason said, taking the cards from her and turning Tim towards the elevator.

“Jason!”

“Christ,” Jason muttered and shut his eyes just before getting rammed in the side by his brother and accidentally jostling Tim next to him.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you’d landed?”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “Because, _Dick_ , I was more concerned with getting to the hotel and getting settled in. Besides, it’s not like we’re going to be incredibly far apart over the course of the next week. We’re staying in the same hotel and I’d wager a guess to say that we’re even on the same floor.”

Dick pouted up at him. “Still. If I hadn’t been coming through the lobby, I would’ve missed you and probably wouldn’t have seen you until tomorrow at least.”

Jason looked past him. “Well I’m here. You’ve seen me. Now where’s your future husband? Shouldn’t he be keeping you under control?”

Dick brightened and stepped back. “Wally’s down at the pool. I was just headed there to meet him. You should come along! Get some sun and enjoy the water!”

Jason chanced a glance at Tim who was still pressed against his side and had his head down. Jason suspected he was still very much freaking out over everything. “Maybe later. We’re going to get settled in first.” He pulled Tim with him and started walking past Dick.

“Wait! You haven’t introduced me yet!” Dick called after them.

“His name is Tim and you can be formally introduced later. Besides, I’m sure you don’t want to keep Wally waiting too long.”

Jason pressed the elevator call button and was more than relieved when a set of doors opened right away and they were able to step inside. He pressed the button for their floor before pressing the door close button frantically. After they shut, he tapped his foot impatiently against the floor as they slowly climbed further up into the hotel.

Jason slipped through the doors just as they opened and steered Tim towards their room, shoving the keycard into the slot and nearly shoving him inside when he got the door open. He abandoned the suitcases near the door and walked Tim over to the bed, sitting him on the edge of it before kneeling down in front of him and searching his face worriedly.

“You okay, Tim? I know that was a bit of a shock and if you’re uncomfortable with this we can call it quits,” he asked, gently.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just not expecting that and I’m a little freaked out by how close our lives have come to each other and we didn’t even know it. It’s just a lot to take in,” he answered, ducking his head.

“No, don’t apologize. It is a lot and you have every right to freak out about it, but I don’t want to pressure you into doing this when you really don’t have to. This is supposed to be enjoyable for the most part and it’s not going to go well if you can’t handle it. I’m supposed to help get rid of some of your stress, not add to it.”

“I’ll be okay. I think I’m even on the mend right now. I just needed a chance to let everything sink in. If that’s the last of the surprises and I’m not ambushed with any more information, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

“You’re sure?” Jason asked, looking unconvinced.

“Yeah. I’m sure.” He took a deep breath. “Right. We should get unpacked. And I want to check out this hotel room.”

“Okay,” Jason said, getting to his feet and stepping back out of Tim’s space.

Tim stood and walked over to the balcony door. He was glad that they got one. It would offer a nice view. And maybe they could even order breakfast and he could drink his coffee out there while enjoying a nice breeze. He pushed the door open and stepped out, breathing in the fresh, salty air and listening to the seagulls call to each other. The few that were out in the afternoon hours anyway.

He stepped over to the railing and looked down, spotting the pool below and the beach where a few people were out laying on towels or walking on the sand. He was certain that there was even a game of beach volleyball going on too.

“How’s the view?” Jason asked, stepping up beside him.

“Amazing! This’ll be one of the perks of this week.”

“That bed looks pretty comfortable, too. And we’ll both have plenty of space so you’re free to sprawl out,” Jason explained.

“And as long as you stay on your side, there should be no problems,” Tim shot back.

“Fine, fine. Cuddling in bed is out of the question, I get it. Unless someone walks in on us, then I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

Tim pushed himself off the railing. “If someone walks into our hotel room then you’re going to be in big trouble and missing something that you probably consider pretty vital.”

“Ouch. Geez,” Jason said wincing.

Tim walked over to the bed to where his backpack had been left when Jason sat him down. He sat on the edge and pulled it to him, unzipping the larger compartment to pull out his laptop.

“Uh-uh, no way. We just got here. There’s no reason for you to already be getting back to work,” Jason said, stalking back into the room and wagging his finger at Tim.

“I need to do work, Jason,” he said, ignoring him and reaching for the power button.

“No you don’t. You haven’t gotten any panicked phone calls from your team and you’re just going to end up staring at your computer screen, bored. And if you do decide to send them check-in emails, they’re only going to get annoyed and it’s going to stop them from getting work done because they’ll need to constantly give you updates.” Jason pulled the laptop from Tim’s hands and shut it, much to Tim’s displeasure. “Now, if you’re really still fine with this whole situation and can manage to make it through the week, let’s actually get out and go do something.”

Tim pouted up at him. “Like what?”

“We’re in Florida, staying at a beachfront hotel. For one, there are lots of things in the hotel that we could do. I’m pretty sure they have an entire shopping center and a spa so if you’re looking for a rub down, you know where to find it. There’s a gym and exercise studio. Oh, and let’s not forget the incredible layout of the pool with several bars and places to get food and the white, sandy beach that’s just begging to be walked on as crystal blue water laps at your feet.”

“You want to go for a walk on the beach? With me?” Tim asked, slowly.

“Yes,” Jason grit out. “Do you have a problem with that? Or are you just going to continue to be thickheaded and insufferable?”

Tim shrugged. “I think it’s all part of my charm. I’m trying to see how long it takes me to drive you up the wall out of frustration.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Go get changed into more appropriate beach clothes. We’re going out for a walk. Besides, it’s not good to sit around after spending a couple hours sitting on a plane. Gotta get the blood flowing again.”

Tim huffed, but conceded. It was a fair point in any case. He reached for his suitcase and grabbed a pair of beach shorts and a white polo, because he was _that_ guy and he really didn’t have the opportunity to go to the beach that often in Gotham. He slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind him only to find the room about as big and spacious as the bed they’d be sleeping in all week.

“Fucking…” he muttered. He steadfastly ignored the large shower that _definitely_ had enough room for two people and then some. He didn’t need to start thinking about _that_. He changed quickly, enjoying being able to switch out his jeans for shorts. He looked over himself in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair. He looked tired, noticeable bags under his eyes. Jason was probably going to force a week of sleep on him so they would be gone by the time he got back to Gotham.

Tim gathered up his clothes and walked back into the bedroom, freezing when he caught sight of what Jason had changed into.

“Hey you hungry? We could get some food while we’re at it since we sort of missed lunch,” he said before looking up from his phone. “You okay?”

“Fine,” Tim said, forcing his legs to move and walk him over to where his suitcase was still sitting on the floor. He didn’t know why seeing Jason in shorts and a tank top after seeing him completely naked was having such an effect on him, but he couldn’t deny how good the ensemble looked. Not to mention the sunglasses that were perched on the top of his head, holding back all but a lock of the white streak in his hair.

“You’re really wearing a polo?” he asked. Tim could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Gotham doesn’t really offer many opportunities to go to the beach. Sorry for being woefully unprepared. I do have a suit for the wedding though so I should be covered for that.”

Jason hummed. “We can remedy this situation by taking you shopping later.”

Tim rolled his eyes and stood, turning to face Jason. “Ready to go?”

“Yup,” he said, popping the p. He shoved his phone and one of the keys into his pocket and walked past Tim to the door, pulling it open and standing to the side to let Tim through first.

“You are taking this way too seriously.”

“Nah, I’m just a gentleman. And willing to have fun. Unlike a certain someone.”

“I’m willing to have fun.”

“Reaaaallly now? Prove it.” Jason challenged as they stepped into the elevator.

“I’m going for a walk on the beach with you, aren’t I?”

“But are you really going to have fun and enjoy doing it? That’s the question,” Jason shot back.

“You’ll just have to wait and find out.”

“ _You’ll_ just have to wait and find out,” Jason said, laughing. “Come on, if we take too long, we’re going to miss out on some prime sunlight hours and I want to make sure that I get back to Gotham with a tan. I need to make all the tanning bed and spray tan jerks at the gym jealous.” He grabbed Tim’s hand and pulled him across the floor of the hotel and towards the doors leading to the back of the hotel.

Tim winced as the heat and humidity hit him and he was regretting not having put on sunscreen. But once the initial shock of the temperature change passed, he found the warmth oddly pleasant. It was one that they didn’t often get in Gotham since the city was farther north and had perpetual smog and grayness hanging over it year-round.

“Jason! You made it outside! I was getting worried that you were going to spend all afternoon up in your room.”

They looked over to find Dick calling to them from where he was propped up on his elbows on a lawn chair. There was a redhead on the chair next to him who’d shifted around when Dick spoke up to give them a look.

“We’ve only been up there for a little bit,” Jason argued, walking over to him. “And it was just to get our things unpacked and check out where we were staying. Wally,” he greeted the other man.

“Hey, Jason. Long time, no see,” he said, smiling. “And this must be the infamous boyfriend who Dick’s been talking about nonstop.”

“Tim Drake. Nice to meet you,” Tim said, introducing himself.

“Drake?” he asked, cocking his head.  “You wouldn’t be the same Tim Drake who’s friends with Bart Allen, would you?”

Tim’s eyed widened and blinked dumbly. “Uh…yeah. We’ve known each other for years. How do you…”

“Bart’s my cousin. I didn’t realize that his friend was dating my soon to be brother-in-law. He should be around here somewhere if you wanted to see him and catch up,” he said, looking around the pool.

“Yeah. I’m sure that I’ll run into him later,” Tim said, slowly.

“Well, we’re headed down to the beach,” Jason said, tugging on Tim’s arm and pulling him in the direction of the stairs.

“Have fun!” Dick called after them.

“This weekend just keeps getting stranger and stranger,” Tim muttered as they hit the sand. He used his hold on Jason’s hand to balance as he reached down to pull off his shoes, enjoying the feeling of the sand between his toes.

“Yeah. It’s a little strange to think that we haven’t met before you decided to kick a hole through my wall,” Jason mused.

They walked towards the water and along the edge of it in silence, letting the crash of the waves and the sounds of the seagulls fill the silence between them. Up ahead of them was a group playing a game of beach volleyball, their competitive and happy shouts mixing in with the other sounds to create a peaceful symphony.

Tim slowly edged closer to the water, shivering when the first crash of the waves washed over his feet and swallowed his ankles. The swell returned to sea and he dutifully waited for it to return, enjoying the flow of water now that it felt less bitterly cold. He tentatively dragged his toes through the sand, watching as the waves washed away the marks he made and brought it back to its original, uniform state.

“No fair, Jack!” Tim looked up at the sound of voices and saw that the volleyball the group was playing with had gotten hit over to them. “Can you guys to us a favor and toss it back?”

Jason let go of Tim’s hand and picked up the ball. Tim almost went back to tracing his toes in the wet sand, but watched as Jason tossed the ball up and sent an incredible serve back to the group.

“Hey, thanks!”

Jason turned to find Tim watching him. “What?” he asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Nothing. You play beach volleyball?” he asked, turning back to tracing in the sand.

“A little bit. Recreationally more than anything else. Whenever we would go on vacation to the beach, Dick would always insist on playing. Sometimes he would even enter us into tournaments and things. Have you ever played?”

“Nah. Don’t get down to the beach much so I’ve never given it a try,” he said, giving up on the sand and moving further down the beach.

“You hungry?” Jason asked, following after him. “We could head back and grab something to eat.”

“That sounds more like you’re hungry and you’re trying to use me being hungry as an excuse to go get food.”

“Okay so I’m hungry. Would you like to head back to the hotel and get something to eat? Or possibly a drink? That could help with getting you to relax and I’ve gotta say that I’m interested to see what you’re like drunk since I’ve not managed that yet in all the time that we’ve been dating.”

“And you aren’t going to see me drunk. I don’t much care for the feeling of having that much alcohol in my system. I wouldn’t mind a cocktail, but is it really acceptable to get one in the middle of the afternoon?”

Jason opened his arms wide. “We’re on the beach in Florida at a far too expensive hotel. Trust me when I say that no one’s going to be paying much attention to what you’re drinking since they’re already drowning themselves in margaritas.”

Tim shrugged. “Yeah, okay.” They turned and started heading back the way they came. “Just don’t let me drink too many. I’d really rather avoid any risk of your dad seeing me when I’m inebriated. He probably thinks I’m slacking off enough as it is.”

“You’re the least of his worries and your project’s going to be fine and turned in by the deadline anyway so he can’t really get onto you for attending his son’s wedding _and_ getting your work done.”

“I guess,” Tim said, not entirely convinced.

“Come on,” Jason said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up the stairs. “We’ll have a great time eating and drinking this afternoon and then we can skip the dinner tonight so you don’t have to see Bruce. We can put off the second meeting as long as possible. If you want we can even order room service for dinner and watch whatever movie they’ve got streaming on the T.V. And if there’s nothing good, then we can pay to watch a good movie and charge it to Bruce’s card.”

Tim laughed. “You’re insane.”

“Only when it comes to you,” he said, grinning. “Come on, let’s go.” Jason took off running across the pool deck and Tim had trouble keeping up because he was laughing so hard. And if he chose to ignore the eyes that were trained on him from Dick and Wally, then that was neither here nor there.


	4. Chapter 4

Tim blinked his eyes open slowly, staring at the curtains that had been pulled in front of the window to keep the sunlight out. A few rays still managed to sneak through where the curtains didn’t quite meet and it took his sluggish brain to remember where he was and what he was doing. Fake dating. The wedding. Florida.

He reached his arms over his head and did a full body stretch, arching his back and pulling at the sheets slightly. He reached over for his phone to check the time and bolted upright when he saw that it was already past 10am.

“What’s wrong?” Jason groaned from next to him, voice gravelly with the last dregs of sleep and words sluggish.

“What’s wrong is that it’s already after 10am. I can’t believe I slept so late. I should’ve set an alarm.” He made to throw the blankets aside and get up, but a hand on his arm stopped him.

“You’re on vacation. You can afford to sleep in a little. And if you check your email on your phone before jumping out of bed, I’m sure that you’re not going to find a frantic email from your team saying that they’re in a desperate situation and need you to fly back immediately.”

Tim opened his mouth to retort, but scowled instead because pulling out his computer was exactly what he was going to do. He let himself fall back onto the mattress instead and held his phone above him to check his inbox which was shockingly empty. He let it fall to the side and huffed out a breath.

“See?” Jason said, propping himself up on his elbow. “Nothing to worry about. Now if you’re hungry I can get us some breakfast ordered and we can figure out what to do today.”

“Fine.”

Jason pushed himself out of bed and walked over to the phone that they had in their room, but just as he picked up the receiver, there was a knock on their door. Leaving the phone in its cradle, he walked over to the door and pulled it open.

“Jason!”

“Dick? What are you doing at our room?” he asked, leaning against the door frame.

“Well since someone didn’t come down to dinner last night, I wanted to make sure that I at least got to spend some time with you. So I think that you and Tim should come down to the pool today and hang out with me and Wally. I think Bart’s going to be there for a while, too. And maybe later we can head down to the sand and play some beach volleyball,” he explained enthusiastically.

Jason stepped back from the door and looked at Tim, eyebrow raised in question. He shrugged. “Sure, why not. We’re just going to have breakfast and then we’ll be down.”

“Great! Don’t take too long or the crowds will take all the good deck chairs,” he called even as he was already walking down the hallway to the elevator.

“Well, looks like that’s decided for us,” Jason said, letting the door fall shut and walking back to the phone. He picked it up and dialed quickly. “Yes I’d like to order room service. Your full breakfast, please. Yes. Room 516. Yes that’s right. Thank you.”

“Does coffee come with this breakfast?” Tim asked, shifting himself back towards the headboard and arranged the pillows behind him.

“I really hope not. If it does, I’m pouring it out because I will get you off coffee for this week if it’s the last thing that I do,” Jason said, pulling out the office chair and sitting down only to prop his feet up on the edge of the bed.

Tim pouted. “Come onnnn. You brought me all the way here to lie to your family. The least you could do is let me have coffee.”

“And I brought you here because you felt bad about kicking a hole through my wall which makes us even.”

Tim crossed his arms and stared at Jason who was giving him a stern look. Tim narrowed his eyes and Jason quirked an eyebrow at him, but the two kept themselves from saying anything further. Moments later, a knock sounded at the door with a call that it was room service, forcing Jason to break their staring contest to bring the food in.

“That was surprisingly fast,” Tim said as Jason pushed a cart into the room.

“Things get done pretty quickly when the people calling for them are the guests of a billionaire who’s renting out practically half of the place for his son’s wedding.”

“Right. Forgot about that little detail.”

Jason pulled the lid off the tray, letting the comforting smells of food waft out from underneath it and fill the room. They were met with an assortment of pastries and fruit and a pitcher of water. Tim visibly deflated at the lack of coffee.

“Don’t look so disappointed.”

Tim looked up at him through his eyelashes. “How can I not be disappointed?”

Jason just rolled his eyes and held out a croissant to Tim. Hopefully the food would help him shut up about the damn coffee that he was so obsessed with.

Once they’d finished their food and left the tray in the hallway outside their door for housekeeping to collect, Tim and Jason changed into their swim trunks and headed down to the pool. Jason managed to remember to intertwine their fingers just before they stepped through the hotel doors and hit the pool deck.

It was already pretty crowded for the early hour and the sun was up, heating the air and the pavement around them. Tim was grateful that he chose to slip on his flip-flops to keep himself from hurting his feet from the hot concrete. They spotted Dick and Wally easily, Wally’s red hair sticking out from the rest of the crowd and headed for where they were seated. Jason had just opened his mouth to say something and Tim raised his hand in greeting when a body slammed into his side.

“Tim!”

All the air was squeezed out of his lungs. “Hi Bart,” he croaked.

Bart let him go and held him at arm’s length to look over him. “Wally told me that you were here, but I can’t believe it! Why didn’t you tell me that you were dating Jason?! Or that you were coming to the wedding for that matter?!”

“Well, the coming to the wedding bit was a little last minute. I didn’t know that I was coming until a week ago. And as to why I didn’t tell you…well, I didn’t know that you knew of Jason. And I didn’t know that your cousin was getting married either.”

Bart pouted, but it didn’t stay very long because he couldn’t help but grin at having one of his best friends there. “I’ll let it go this time. I’m just happy to see you. It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve been able to hang out.”

“It’s only been a month, hasn’t it?” Tim asked, trying to mentally count back to when their last movie night was.

“I don’t know, but have you been down to the beach yet? You should come with me!”

“Wai-“ Tim opened his mouth to protest, but Bart was already pulling him towards the stairs and away from Jason. Jason just watched them go, obviously amused by their friendship, before taking a seat in one of the two empty chairs that had been saved for him and Tim.

“Not going to go after your boyfriend?” Dick asked.

“Nah,” he said, laying back with his arms behind his head. “It’ll be good for Tim to have time alone with his friend. He’s been stressed out enough as it is and I’m sure he could use the comfort of another familiar face.”

“Yeah, but at this rate you might not get him back,” Wally broke in.

“Bart can try to keep him away.”

“Bart’s pretty fast. He made varsity track and cross country his freshman year of college,” Wally said, doubtful of how sure Jason was.

“So he’s fast…but is Tim? I don’t think Bart could get very far if he was carrying him either.”

“That’s…actually a pretty fair point. I guess you’ve got nothing to worry about then,” he said, laying back down.

Dick sat up suddenly. “We should go play beach volleyball.”

“Dick, I only just got out here, let me relax for a minute before I have to get all sweaty and covered in sand that you’ll inevitably kick up. And who are the teams going to be anyway? There’s only three of us.”

“What do you mean there’s only three of us? Of course it’s going to be me and Wally against you and Tim.”

“I don’t even know if Tim knows how to play beach volleyball.”

“Does it matter? It’s not like we did at first either. And I’m sure that you can bring him up to speed pretty quickly. He seems like a smart enough guy. I’m going to go track down a ball and net,” Dick said, before jumping up and running into the hotel.

Jason groaned and pulled off his sunglass to rub a hand over his eyes.

“It’ll take him a while to get everything set up so we have at least thirty minutes before we have to get up and move. And you could probably stall a little more after that if you have to actually track down Tim,” Wally spoke up, not bothered by his fiancé’s antics.

“Huh. You’re right. If I’d planned for this sooner, I probably could’ve bribed the hotel staff to play keep away with everything we need for a few hours at least.”

“I like the way you think.”

When Dick came to pull Jason and Wally from their sunbathing, they were met with the sight of the volleyball net already put up and Tim waiting for them with the volleyball in his hands.

“Just warning you, but I’ve never played beach volleyball before,” he said as Jason approached.

“I honestly wasn’t expecting you to have. But it’s just like regular volleyball, except on the beach and with only two people instead of a whole team.”

“Wow, so completely different then?” Tim said with a grin…that took Jason a little by surprise because Tim had a really nice smile that he hadn’t noticed before and he looked so naturally relaxed. More so than he had so far that week.

“We’ll let you guys serve first because you’re going to need it,” Dick called, snapping Jason from his focus on Tim.

“Oh yeah, Dickie? Just for that, I won’t give you a handicap point like I have in every other game we’ve played.” He turned back to Tim. “Do you want to serve or…?”

He shook his head and held the ball out to Jason. “I think it might be best if you do it to start us off with. I was never very good at serving whenever we played volleyball in school and I’d rather not be the reason that they get the first point.”

Jason took the ball in his hands. “That sounded a bit competitive. Are you hiding a competitive side from me?” he asked, spinning the ball in his hands.

“I guess you’ll just have to find out. Just know that there’s a reason that I went into business. A reason that wasn’t entirely due to the money that I would make and the fact that I would probably have a stable job for the rest of my life.”

Jason chuckled and moved several feet back in order to give him enough distance for a jump-serve. He spun the ball in his hand once more before tossing it up and running forward, bringing the palm of his hand forward to launch the ball over the net. Dick received it easily and sent it towards Wally for a spike, but Jason dived and rebounded it towards Tim who sent his own spike over the net, gaining height easily despite his shorter stature.

Wally was caught off guard from the hit and accidentally pushed the ball backwards, but Dick bumped it back over the net easily. Tim placed himself underneath it perfectly to act as setter. Jason saw his chance and raced forward, spiking Tim’s set. Hard. Dick tried to dive and reach for where it was headed, but it was too slow and Jason and Tim got the first point.

“Looks like the first point goes to us,” Jason said, grinning and pulling Tim to his side in a hug.

“And it’ll be the last,” Dick said, pushing himself up and out of the sand.

“We’ll see about that,” Tim shot back, grinning just as wide.

“Alright, let’s do another one of those, you take the back this time,” Jason said quietly.

“Got it.”

They took up their positions and watched as Dick lobbed his serve back. It wasn’t a coordinated jump serve like Jason’s was, but it wasn’t lacking any power despite being less showy. Jason got in the ball’s path quickly and spiked it back, unfortunately, straight to Wally. He received easily and bumped it as Dick rushed forward. Instead of spiking it like Tim was expecting he set the ball, giving Wally an opening to rush forward and take the spike.

Tim fell to his knees, keeping the ball from hitting the sand on their side, giving it back to Jason who set it for him. He faked a spike as Wally and Dick rushed to his side and tossed it back in Jason’s direction. He grinned as the ball approached him and spiked it to the sand easily, even as Wally made a desperate attempt to save it, but still fell too short.

“I cannot believe that the two of you have already scored two points,” Dick said, disbelief clear.

“Are you regretting not getting that handicap point now?” Jason teased as he gave Tim a high-five.

“This next one’s ours,” he growled, tossing the ball to Wally.

Wally took his place at the back of their area. Tim tensed as he tossed the ball up, waiting for the moment when his hand would make contact and send it to their side of the net. What he wasn’t expecting was how powerful the serve would be and the fact that it would come down just at the edge of their line. His hand barely made it underneath in time to keep it in play. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get it back to Jason and the ball inevitably came down on their side.

Jason pulled Tim up from where he was lying on the sand and he brushed the grains from his skin. They were starting to attract a crowd now even though they’d just started playing.

“Let’s just focus on keeping and widening our lead,” Jason whispered. “Wally has always had an intense serve and strange pin-point accuracy. I never understood where he got it from, but I think we can manage to handle it.”

Tim nodded and Jason finally noticed the fire in his eyes. The need for the challenge and the desire to win. It brought a smirk to his face. As inexperienced as Tim claimed to be with beach volleyball, he thought they actually had a chance of winning this.

“Do you want to serve or do you want me to take it again?”

Tim looked up at him. “I’d suggest you take it. I’m willing to give it a shot, but there’s always the chance that I could end up losing us another point and tying us early on.”

“Even if I serve, there’s the chance of that happening. Here,” he said, handing over the ball, “I think you can do it. Just believe in yourself.”

Tim stepped behind the line and held the ball tightly between his hands. He took a deep and focused. He could do this. He tossed the ball above his head and brought his hand forward in a spike. It didn’t have as much power as Jason’s, Wally’s, or Dick’s, but it made it over the net and that’s what he was grateful for.

Dick received it easily and got it to Wally who sent the spike back. Jason bumped it back to Tim and he set it up for the spike that Jason sprinted forward to take. Wally fell backwards even as he successfully received the spike, still keeping it in play and giving Dick a chance to send it back to Wally who set it up after somehow managing to get to his feet.

Jason dived and saved the ball from hitting the sand. Tim bumped it back in the air, trying to get a sense of where Dick and Wally were positioned out of the corner of his eye. Jason set it up nicely and Tim used everything he had to push himself from the ground and reach the ball. Both Dick and Wally were rushing forward and instead of striking down, Tim sent the ball over their heads to land in the sand heavily behind them.

Everyone was dead silent for a moment. Not quite believing what had just happened. And then their audience broke out into loud cheers. Jason pulled Tim to him and lifted him off his feet, spinning him around.

Getting and maintaining the lead against Dick and Wally was harder than Tim thought that it would be. Jason had an idea of what to expect since he’d played with and against both of them before, but that didn’t mean that it was an easy game. It wasn’t. They got sandy and sweaty and were left gasping for breath after some points were won or lost. But in the end, they’d managed to come out on top and Jason couldn’t begin to quell his excitement even if he’d tried.

“I can’t believe you guys won,” Dick said, hands on his knees as he fought to catch his breath even as the cheers from the crowd surrounding the net continued.

“That’s what you get for underestimating us,” Jason said, rubbing his stomach. “That was a longer match than I anticipated honestly.”

“We should head in. Bruce must be waiting for us to join him for dinner,” Dick said, checking his watch.

Jason tensed where he still had his arm around Tim’s shoulders.

“And yes, you’re coming with us. You can’t avoid him forever.”

“Fine,” Jason said, obviously not pleased.

The thought of having dinner with Bruce Wayne made Tim’s stomach twist into knots, the joy from their hard earned victory fading. He hoped that he wouldn’t be expected to interact with him too much because he didn’t want to offend him. It was bad enough that he probably already thought Tim was slacking off from his job.

“It’ll be fine,” Jason whispered to him as they headed towards the stairs up to the pool deck, Wally and Dick leading the way.

“I’m not so sure about that,” Tim said, softly.

“Don’t worry. And if he does try to make a big deal of it, I can use it as an excuse to storm out and take you with me and then we can order awesome room service and watch movies.”

Tim chuckled. “Okay. Thanks, Jay.”

Jason smiled down at Tim and pulled him as close as he dared.

Bruce was waiting for them in the dining room, but when Dick mumbled his apologies and explained they had been involved in an intense match of beach volleyball, he’d easily relaxed and almost looked pleased by the fact. Tim was grateful that he was seated as far from Bruce as possible and had Jason seated between him and his boss to run interference.

A few times during the meal, Jason had leaned down to whisper things in his ear and had even made him laugh and smile on more than one occasion. After that happened a few times, he felt like Bruce had given him a look of almost acceptance. He wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but he was grateful for it all the same, because he didn’t feel quite so uneasy anymore.

Despite the improvements that dinner had brought he was still happy to get back to their hotel room and get to sleep, meaning he’d crawled in bed right away and left Jason in the shower. Jason had come back to the room in a near daze. He couldn’t get the memory of Tim’s smiles or his laughter out of his head. Every time he was able to bring that type of reaction from Tim, he felt his chest tighten a little at the sight.

Even now as he laid down in bed and looked at Tim’s sleeping back and the gentle rise and fall from his breathing, he felt himself come to a realization that he never expected. And that he might like Tim a little more than he thought he would.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim stifled a yawn as he sat down in the plush chair at the breakfast table that Wally and Dick were already occupying. He brightened when he noticed the coffee pot that was in the middle of the table and reached for it only to be stopped by a hand on his arm.

“I’m going to have coffee, Jason,” he said, giving him a stern look.

“No, you’re not. I told you that you weren’t allowed any coffee while on vacation and I’m still sticking by that.”

“I’m drinking that coffee, Jason.”

“No, you’re not.”

“As much as I adore watching the two of you argue over coffee in the morning like an old married couple, I’m going to put the argument on hold for a minute to let the two of you know that I’ve signed you up for couples yoga with me and Wally,” Dick said, breaking into their stare down.

“Sorry you what?” Jason asked, grabbing ahold of Tim’s hand when he tried to sneak it forward and grab the handle of the coffeepot. He reached forward with his other hand and picked it up, moving it off to the right and out of Tim’s reach, much to his dismay.

“I said, I signed you up for couple’s yoga.”

“And why didn’t you ask us if we wanted to do couple’s yoga first?” Jason asked.

“Because I was pretty sure that you would’ve told me no and I’m not about to let you hide out in your hotel room all week and not do anything fun.”

“Dick we just played beach volleyball with you yesterday,” he said, wrapping an arm around Tim’s chest as he tried to lunge across him for the coffee pot.

“Jason,” he whined.

“You’re only making this worse for yourself,” he shot back.

“There won’t be any coffee at the yoga class,” Dick pointed out helpfully.

Jason raised an eyebrow and looked down at Tim who was still pouting in his arms. “We’re in.”

“Jason!”

“What? You have a problem doing yoga?”

“No, but…I didn’t bring any workout clothes.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, I picked some up for you at one of the shops in the hotel,” Dick said, refilling his cereal bowl again.

“You what? How do you even know what my sizes are?”

“I pretty much guessed, but I think I got pretty close. They might be a little big, but that shouldn’t be a problem. And if they’re too small, I can always get you the next size up. Just let me know and I can get them to you before this afternoon,” he said, pushing a paper bag across the table towards him.

Tim reached out for it hesitantly, pulling it towards himself with his index and thumb. He peeked inside, mouth dropping open in size. “You can’t be serious?” he asked Dick, looking up at him with a hint of desperation. “This is what you picked out for me?”

He shrugged. “That was all they had.”

Somehow, Tim didn’t quite believe what he was telling him.

“It can’t be that bad, let me see,” Jason said, reaching for the bag.

“No!” he exclaimed, clutching it against his chest. “No, it’s no big deal. It’s fine.” He dropped the bag to the floor next to his chair, shooting it once last glance before turning to the food and picking up a few pieces of toast and some fruit to nibble on.

“How did you know that I’d have spare clothes to do yoga in anyway?” Jason asked before taking a sip of orange juice.

“Because I know you, Jason and I knew that even if you didn’t manage to make it to the gym while you were here for a week you would bring a spare change of clothes just in case.”

Jason hummed but didn’t answer.

Dick and Wally left the breakfast table first, which was honestly a surprise to Tim considering how much cereal he continued to put away. Tim was wondering how he was going to make it through an hour session of couples yoga after eating that much.

“Most people wonder how he can eat that much and still look the way he does. I don’t even know, but I’m used to it by now. The incredible sugar intake just doesn’t faze him for some weird reason,” Jason said, answering Tim’s unspoken questions.

“It’s just…how is he going to bend and twist after eating that much food?” Tim whispered, looking at Jason out of the corner of his eye.

“He’s used to it I guess. His parents were acrobats and he grew up in the circus before being adopted by Bruce. Never gave it up really, so bending and twisting isn’t that unusual for him.”

“I guess that it explains it…”

“We should probably get going in any case. If we’re even a minute late for the yoga class, Dick is going to kill us and we need to head back up to our room and change.”

“Yeah…sure.” Tim clutched the handles of the paper bag tightly as he pushed his chair back and stood. He’d had a few blessed moments of not having to think about what was inside of it, but now he was very quickly brought back to the issue at hand. And as Jason had so graciously pointed out, Dick would kill them if they missed. He had to make sure it all fit anyway since he wasn’t able to try it on earlier or test the measurements.

“You can take the bathroom to change and I can change out here if you want,” Jason said as he pushed the door to their room open.

“Uh, yeah…thanks.” Tim slipped into the bathroom and locked the door securely behind him. He set the bag on the counter and reached inside with shaking hands, only to pull out a pair of black leggings and a red tank top. He set them next to the bag in a neat pile and took a minute to just stare at them, apprehensively.

Slowly, he pulled off his jeans and the shirt that he’d put on after crawling out of bed. He was glad that he’d gone with boxer-briefs the night before. Having to walk out to grab a different pair of underwear would’ve just been all kinds of awkward. And he wasn’t ready for Jason to know just what Dick had picked out for him.

Tim reached for the leggings first, sticking his legs through them and hopping in place when his foot inevitably got caught on the stretchy fabric. Despite being form-fitting, the leggings weren’t tight or too small. That didn’t mean that wearing them didn’t feel embarrassing because they didn’t leave too much to the imagination. He picked up the tank top, hoping that it would be a little longer to cover his crotch and his ass.

He slipped it over his head and sighed, relieved when the material flowed out at the bottom. It was fitted at the top, the straps leaving his arms and shoulders bare because of the racerback style, but it offered him a small comfort and relief after he’d put on the leggings. He twisted and turned, looking over the outfit in the mirror and stealing himself for the ridicule he was no doubt about to receive from Jason. There was no way that he wouldn’t laugh at him over what Dick had bought.

Tim turned the lock slowly and pulled open the door. He stepped out and groaned in frustration. “How come you get to wear basketball shorts?” he accused.

“What?” Jason asked, obviously confused and froze after he turned around and caught sight of Tim.

Jason felt his heart pick up at the tight leggings and flowy red tank top that Tim was standing there in. “That-“ he croaked and cleared his throat. “That’s what Dick bought for you?”

“Yeah and how come you get to wear shorts?” he nearly whined, still feeling betrayed by the injustice of it all.

“Well, I did pack my own clothes so I’m sure that had something to do with it.”

“How was I supposed to know that we were going to be wrangled into couples yoga?” he whined.

Jason finally pulled himself from his daze and tugged at the front of his muscle shirt. “You sort of just have to be prepared for anything with Dick. He’s pretty unpredictable. We should get going though, we don’t want to be late.”

“There’s no way that I can go through a yoga class wearing this. We should just skip,” he said, burying his face in his hands.

“Really? I think you look great,” Jason blurted and immediately froze.

Tim stiffened and peeked through his fingers. “Really?” He watched as a blush bloomed over Jason’s cheeks.

“Uh, yeah. Come on, we should go,” he said, grabbing the room key and moving past Tim towards the door.

Tim looked down at his shirt before following Jason out the door, feeling slightly better about this whole thing now that he knew Jason wasn’t going to make fun of him…and actually liked what he was wearing. He never would’ve thought that was possible. But he didn’t exactly know his tastes.

At the start of the yoga class, after Dick sent them both a knowing look that made Tim get all embarrassed over the clothes again, because he was reminded that Dick somehow managed to guess his size and buy the clothes for him, Tim thought that he might be able to get through the rest of it with no problem. The instructor had them both sitting back-to-back and cross-legged in order to work on their couples breathing. It was comforting to have Jason’s presence at his back and his firm body pressing against his as they worked to breathe in sync, feeling each movement of each other’s body as their lungs and chests expanded to bring in more air before they exhaled.

Tim found a new sense of calm from the breathing and even more so as they moved into the partner twist, the feeling of Jason’s large hand, heavy on his knee even as his own pressed down on Jason’s own. He was expecting to be put into far more compromising positions and forced to twist and try to bend his body in directions that he wasn’t used to moving in.

“Now allow yourselves to return to your normal sitting position, gently untwisting your spines. Get to your feet and stand next to each other. We’re going to move into the Twin Trees pose. First, bring your outside leg up to the inside of your thigh and find your balance. Partners, bring your inside arms up and rest your forearms and hands against each other as your outside hand comes up like so.”

Jason’s arm and hand didn’t quite dwarf Tim’s but it was pretty close, much to his own surprise. He tried not to focus on where they found strength and balance in each other, the calluses on Jason’s fingers, firm against the smooth skin of Tim’s fingers. Tim was glad to come out of the pose, but his relief didn’t last long when they were directed into the partner forward fold.

He was once again left mentally cursing the fitted leggings that he was wearing now that his ass and the length of his legs was pressed against Jason’s. He was just glad that Jason couldn’t see his face because there was no doubt a flush across his cheeks that had nothing to do with the warmth in his muscles and the sweat that was beginning to collect on his skin from the strenuous movements.

“Gently uncurl your spines and return to a standing position. As you come up, you should feel every part of you and your partner’s back matching up to ensure that you don’t move out of the position too quickly as that could be dangerous and negatively affect the muscles that support your spine.”

Tim swallowed thickly as Jason flexed against him.

“Our next pose is the double downward dog.”

Jason followed the instructor as he was guided into a normal downward dog and Tim was glad that he wouldn’t be pressed up against Jason for this pose. Tim was guided to stand in front of Jason and bring his hands to the floor to support himself as he maneuvered his feet to press against Jason’s lower back, leaving him in a strange, upside-down L-shape. And also giving him a very, very good look of Jason’s back-muscles as they shifted underneath his tank and the sweat that was sliding down his skin. Tim closed his eyes and prayed that this yoga session would be over soon.

“Ease out of the position gently and return to a seated position, facing your partner. Our next pose is the double wide boat. Bring your feet together and spread them to the sides as you hold on to each other’s hands between your extended legs to maintain balance.”

Tim thought that his face was going to be permanently flushed by the end of the class and looked everywhere but at where Jason was. He was really coming to detest yoga. And in this position, his shirt was doing nothing to provide him with any cover. He didn’t even want to begin to imagine what Jason was thinking. The few glances that he managed to steal of him, revealed that Jason’s eyelids were half-lowered and he was biting his lip. Tim swallowed and nearly shoved Jason away when they were told to release the position.

The next two poses were slightly easier for Tim’s mental state and to deal with since one of them was a balance pose where they both supported each other as they held the dancer pose. That was probably one of Tim’s favorites, because it made him feel strong and elegant.

“The last pose that we’re going to cover before moving into savasana is the flying warrior. This is the most challenging pose of the session and if you find yourself not comfortable with doing it, you’re free to move into savasana.”

Tim swallowed as Jason laid on his back and braced his feet against his hips. He reached forward and grasped Jason’s hands tightly, nervous as to what the outcome of this pose was going to be.

“You’re going to be fine,” Jason murmured, speaking for the first time since they’d started the session. “I won’t let you fall okay?”

Tim nodded reluctantly and took a shaky breath before pushing off his toes and pushing into a position where he was hovering over Jason. His arms shook slightly and Jason tightened his grip, giving a reassuring squeeze. Tim did his best to keep his core tight, but still felt a little shaky, amazed that he was staying up. A disbelieving giggle slipped through his lips and Jason grinned up at him.

“See? I told you that I wouldn’t let you fall.”

“Haven’t put me back down yet,” he pointed out.

Jason chuckled and lowered him back to his feet, giving his hands one last squeeze before letting go. He joined Jason on the floor and grabbed ahold of his hand as he let his muscles relax. His mind began to quiet now that silence descended on the group and he realized that despite the embarrassment that he felt he faced with every new pose that was introduced, he actually had fun during the session, and got the chance to let go of all of his worries.

Tim was grateful that the remainder of their day was rather uneventful and Dick didn’t spring any other plans on the two of them. After the yoga session they spent time by the pool and he steadfastly ignored the looks that Dick shot his way every now and then. He didn’t want to read any more into them than was absolutely necessary and didn’t want to even wonder at what he was thinking.

When they made it back after dinner, Tim pulled out his computer and set himself up in the chair at the table they had in their room. Jason made himself ready for bed and was crawling underneath the blanket as Tim pulled up his email.

“Will it bother you if I work for a little bit?” Tim asked, fingers pausing over his keyboard.

“No, I should be fine. I’m surprised that you’ve made it this far without having to check your email every five seconds to make sure that things were still on track.”

“Well, I figure that if something had gone terribly wrong, I would’ve gotten a phone call or something instead of them waiting for me to check my email.”

Jason made some noise of understanding, but it wasn’t long after that he was softly snoring from where his head was buried in his pillow. Tim smiled and browsed the internet as he waited for a response to his check-in emails. He was in the middle of mindlessly scrolling through Facebook when he heard the notification sound softly from his email.

He skimmed the words quickly, smiling now that everything was going well. He shut his laptop and stretched his arms over his head, sighing happily. He pushed himself from his chair and shuffled over to the bed, setting down his phone on the bedside table before crawling underneath the covers. It was only a moment and he hadn’t even gotten settled yet when an arm wrapped around his torso and pulled him backwards.

Tim barely stopped himself from making some sort of noise even as his heart thudded in his chest.

“Jason?” he asked softly.

There was no response behind him, leaving Tim to assume that the movement was completely involuntary. He willed his heartbeat to slow down and forced himself to relax, able to accept how good the contact felt when he wasn’t tense and on edge.


	6. Chapter 6

Jason was slowly brought out of his deep sleep to the frantic sounds of Tim’s voice. It was clear that he was trying to be quiet and considerate, but there was no mistaking the desperation in his voice.

“You’re sure? It’s all gone? Everything that we’ve been working on up until this point? Okay, no, no, calm down, it’s not your fault. There’s still plenty of time left we can find it, we can get it back, don’t worry.”

“Tim?” Jason asked groggily as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and propped himself up on his elbow. He could see the tense set of Tim’s shoulders where he sat in his chair at the table and as he looked over his shoulder at where Jason was still in bed.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” he asked, voice tight.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Jason asked, alert from Tim’s obvious worry. He threw the covers off of himself so he could get out bed and go to him.

Tim shook his head and turned back to his phone. “Keep looking. I’ll sift through my computer and see if I can find anything to help. If you find anything, call me. I’ll call you back as soon as I finish looking and if I don’t find anything, I’ll get going on Plan B.” He ended the call and buried his face in his hands.

“Tim, what’s wrong? What happened?” he asked, holding his hands out awkwardly, wanting to offer comfort, but not sure what to do.

“It’s gone. It’s all gone and I don’t know what to do.” His shoulders started shaking and Jason gently placed a hand on his back.

“What’s gone?”

“My project. My team got into W.E. this morning and were set to get to work on it and it was just gone. There was nothing there. Nothing for them to go back to from the night before.” He dropped his hands and looked up at Jason, tears already collecting in the corners of his eyes. “What do I do, Jason? What am I going to do? There’s no way that we can make up all of the work that we’ve lost in time.”

Jason kneeled down next to Tim’s chair and cupped his face with the hand that wasn’t settled on his back, he brushed away the tears that had begun to fall with his thumb. “It’s going to be okay, Tim. You can figure this out. Maybe they just misplaced it or something. You’ll get your project done, I promise. I’ll do everything I can to help you get it done.”

Tim closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, trying to take strength from Jason’s support. “But what if I can’t? If I don’t get this project done… I have to get this done. I have to.”

“I know, I know, okay? I’ll help you through this. You get to work going through your computer like you told your team you would and I’ll get you some coffee and something light to eat if you’re up to ut,” he said pulling away to slip on his shoes.

“What happened to not letting me have coffee this week?” Tim asked as he sniffed and wiped at his tears.

Jason smiled softly. “I think we can make an exception just this once. It’s an emergency after all.”

Tim nodded and turned back to his computer. Jason watched him for a moment as he clicked through several things and typed in commands to find some way to repair the damage that had been done. He opened the door and shut it softly behind him, feeling his chest tighten at the sight of Tim crying. He’d never seen him like that before. Not that he’d known him long enough to witness such an emotional reaction like that. He took a breath before hurrying down the hall. He wanted to get back to the room quickly so that he could make sure that Tim didn’t do anything drastic like put a hole through his computer. One wall was enough for a while.

When he entered the dining room, he made straight for the nearest server standing next to a pillar and overlooking the area.

“I need to get a cart with food and a lot of coffee,” he demanded.

“Sir, if you’re in need of room service, you’ll need to make a call from your room,” she explained, obviously not wanting to deal with him.

“Look, my boyfriend is freaking out upstairs because something happened with his work and I really just need to bring him something without having to go back up there and place an order. If you really have a problem, I’m sure my father, Bruce Way-“

Her eyes widened. “I’ll get what you need right away, sir.” She moved off quickly, waving at other workers to get out of her way or help her gather what she needed.

Jason sighed, feeling a little of the tension leave his shoulders.

“Everything okay, Jason?” Dick asked, the worry evident in his voice as he popped up behind him.

“What? Oh, hi Dick. It’s…okay. Tim woke up this morning to some very bad news concerning his project. He’s trying to get things straightened out and I’m just grabbing coffee and breakfast to help him get through it.”

“Is he going to have to go back to Gotham?”

Jason shrugged. “No idea. If things don’t work out today and they can’t figure something out, he might. I hope not, though. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation to help him unwind from the stress of everything.”

Dick smiled. “I’m sure that things will be okay. Especially since Tim’s got you to help him out. I’ll see you, and hopefully Tim, later.”

Jason watched him walk away and was relieved when the server who he was talking to earlier hurried out with a cart filled with food.

“Here you are, sir. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“Not at all,” Jason said, taking control of the cart and moving out of the dining room and back to the elevator. It was a little difficult to maneuver it through the hall and the doorway of their room, but he managed in the end. Tim was still sitting at the table, his computer still very much intact, much to Jason’s relief. One of Tim’s hands was tugging at his hair in frustration, though.

“I have breakfast,” he announced. “And coffee. How are things going?”

“I don’t have a copy of the project anywhere on my computer and nothing saved in my email, which means I have to start all over in case my team doesn’t find anything back on the databases at WE.”

“Have you told them yet?”

Tim shook his head. “I was about to but you came back before I could pull out my phone and make the call.”

“Here, let me grab you a coffee and something to eat first before you call them. You need to eat and you should do it now in case you get upset again.”

“I’ll just have the coffee.”

“Tim-“

“I really don’t think my stomach can handle anything else right now.”

“Tim, you really need to eat. Please just have a couple of bites of toast. For me?” he asked as he sat down a cup next to Tim’s hand.

“Okay,” he sighed.

Jason fiddled with the cart, finally seeing what had been brought for the first time. The spread was far fancier than Jason had needed with pastries, eggs, and bacon, but there was toast and fruit which Tim would hopefully be able to get down. He placed two slices of buttered toast and a few strawberries on a plate and left that next to Tim’s cup of coffee before putting together a plate for himself.

He sat down across from Tim and watched as he immediately chugged half his coffee. He obediently picked up one of the slices of toast and nibbled on the corner.

Tim only made it through one slice of toast and a couple of strawberries before he was pushing his plate away. He downed the rest of his coffee and grabbed a refill before he was pulling out his phone and dialing away. Jason watched him, feeling sad that he couldn’t do more at the moment to reduce Tim’s stress.

“Hi George. Have you found anything yet?”

“No? Still working on it? Okay. Keep looking. I didn’t find anything on my computer or in my emails. I’ll go ahead and get started on compiling the document from memory as best I can. Let me know as soon as you find out something new.”

“I might have to, depending on how today goes. It shouldn’t be too hard to find a flight back to Gotham on such short notice anyway. Thanks. Yup. Talk to you later.”

Tim hung up his phone and immediately began to type frantically on his computer. He would pause every now and then, obviously trying to dredge up the old details from memory to save himself from more work later on. Jason busied himself with clearing the dishes from the table. He refreshed Tim’s coffee quickly.

“I’m going to take a shower. Will you be okay for a little bit?” he asked.

Tim waved him away, keeping his focus on the words that he was putting together on the screen. Jason sighed and grabbed a change of clothes before slipping into the bathroom. He tried to keep himself from thinking about the whole situation as he stepped under the water and began to wash himself. It wouldn’t do to stress over things that he couldn’t control. He would just have to content himself with helping Tim through this as best as he was able.

He walked out of the bathroom, hair still damp to find Tim muttering in between sniffles as he hunched further over his keyboard. Jason hurried over to him, worry mounting when he realized that he was sniffling because he was crying.

“Tim?!”

“What if I can’t do it Jason? What if this all goes to shit and I’m done? My career’s over?”

Jason wrapped his arms around Tim from behind. “You can do this. Even if you can’t get this in on time, it won’t be over. You can find a new job if you need to. Everything will work out, I promise. Hell, if you can kick a hole through the wall, you can get through this.”

Tim laughed and rubbed at his eyes. “If only I could kick this into submission so that everything was okay.”

“I know, babe. I’m sorry.” Jason’s eyes widened as he realized what he said and opened his mouth to backtrack when he noticed that Tim hadn’t reacted. He either didn’t register what was said or didn’t care at the moment. “Keep working and I’ll get you a refill on your coffee.”

Tim nodded and started typing again. Jason filled his cup and left it next to his computer before pulling a book from his bag and making himself comfortable in the chair opposite Tim. As he worked his way through the paragraphs, he found himself stealing glances at Tim to assess how he was doing and if he needed to intervene. He still looked stressed and would pull at his hair in frustration, but he didn’t start crying again, so Jason counted that as a win.

It wasn’t until Jason poured the last drops of coffee from the pot into Tim’s empty mug that he checked the time and realized how late it had gotten. He set down the pot and the still empty mug and walked over to Tim, rubbing the back of his shoulders to try and ease some of the tension there.

“How’s it going?” he asked, softly.

“It’s going. I’ve made up maybe a day’s worth of work, but it’s still not enough. Not yet.”

“Okay. We’re out of coffee so I’m going to call room service for more and some lunch. Do you think you can eat anything?”

Tim shook his head and Jason sighed.

“I’ll order you something in case you change your mind.” He left Tim to continue his work and picked up the hotel phone, dialing for room service. “I’d like to place an order for room 516, please. A full pot of coffee, a plate of pasta, and a salad please.”

“Yes, that’s all, thank you.” He hung up the phone and looked over his shoulder at Tim, wondering yet again what he could do for him. There must be something else that he could do rather than keep bringing Tim coffee and trying to get him to eat.

His phone caught his attention when it vibrated on top of the dresser. He opened it to find a text from Dick.

_Dick: How are things going?_

_Jason: Not too good. Tim’s having to start a draft over from the beginning and at this rate it looks like he might have to head back to Gotham to try and get things done, but we’re still waiting for some possible news back from the office._

_Dick: Want me to talk to Dad?_

_Jason: No, I think that we should stay out of this. Tim would probably hate to get special treatment when he’s been doing so much on his own as it is._

_Dick: Keep me updated, then._

_Jason: I’ll let you know if anything changes._

A knock sounded at the door and he put his phone in his pocket to let in the hotel worker that brought their new tray of food. He took the one that Jason had brought up for breakfast and left as quietly as he’d entered. Jason gave Tim a new cup of coffee and set it in front of him, before splitting up the food onto two plates and giving one to Tim.

“Please eat a few bites. You didn’t have much for breakfast and you’ve been working nonstop since then.”

“Jason, I can’t. I need to keep working and that’ll only slow me down.”

“But if you don’t eat, that’s only going to make you crash later and keep you down longer than if you take some time now to eat.”

“Jay-“ Tim’s statement was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. He answered it quickly. “Hello?” He listened intently before slumping against the table. “Really? You’re sure? And it’s recent? How recent? No, I can help…if you need me to get back on a plane to Gotham…okay. Thanks, George.” He hung up and stared at his phone for a moment before tears started to slide down his cheeks.

“Tim, what happened? What’s wrong?”

Tim looked up and smiled. “It’s going to be okay. They found a recent copy of our work and they think they can get it updated and in good shape by tomorrow night. Everything’s going to be okay. God, I’m so relieved.”

Jason returned Tim’s smile and pulled him from his chair and into a rough hug. “I’m glad.”

Tim’s hands fisted into the back of his shirt as he held him close.

“Let’s go out tonight and celebrate. We can have dinner and then go out and have some fun. I think there’s a roller rink around here somewhere that does disco nights or something. But first, we’re going to take a nap because you need to take a break from everything.”

Tim nodded against him and Jason pulled him into bed, letting his head pillow on his arm. His eyes shut quickly and he fell asleep first, the stress of the day having exhausted him entirely past the point of where coffee could keep him awake. He stayed curled up into Jason even as he slept. Jason ran his fingers through his hair to keep him relaxed, but he was interrupted when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out carefully and saw that he had another message from Dick.

_Dick: If you can pull Tim away from his work, the spa here has some great massages. That should help relieve some of the stress he’s experiencing._

Jason smiled down at Tim’s face and quickly pulled up his phone’s camera, snapping a picture of Tim’s peaceful, sleeping face. He attached the picture to his message and typed out a reply before hitting send.

_Jason: Thanks, but I think a nap is going to have him feeling much better. Everything’s mostly back on track so I think that he’ll be able to stay for the wedding._

He set his phone aside and pulled Tim a little closer before letting himself close his eyes and drift off.

~~

Tim was beyond grateful to have had Jason helping him out all day when he was so close to losing his mind. The restaurant that they went to for dinner was a nice small place that had great food. But he was a little nervous to head to the roller rink after their meal. It had been years since he’d done anything remotely close to roller skating and he wasn’t entirely sure how it was going to go. It also didn’t help that Jason seemed to be a natural, stepping onto the wooden floor and pretty much gliding away.

Tim kept a tight hand on the railing as he gingerly stepped off the carpet and onto the smooth wood surface.

“Everything okay, Tim?” Jason asked, smiling at him as he swung back around.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done something like this so I’m a bit rusty.”

“Here, let me help you,” he said, holding out his hand. Tim took it tentatively. “Keep your knees bent for right now to maintain your balance and keep your chest up so that you don’t fall over.”

Jason took his other hand in his and carefully skated backwards, pulling Tim along.

“See? It’s not too bad.”

Tim smiled, feeling a little proud of himself that he hadn’t fallen yet. “Yeah, I guess not. Now you just have to pull me around the rink all night and we’ll be golden.”

Jason laughed and let them roll to a stop before moving so he was standing next to Tim. “Now where’s the fun in that?” He kept Tim’s hand clasped tightly in his as he moved them forward slowly. Tim kept his other hand out to keep his balance. “Just move your feet forward slowly, feel when the wheels come in contact with the floor.”

Tim moved forward experimentally, but quickly began to flail when his skates got away from him. He squeezed his eyes shut when he felt himself start to fall, but a strong arm around his waist, pulled him back up. He opened his eyes to find Jason chuckling as he looked down at him.

“That was a close one.”

Tim cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah.”

“Let’s try that again.”

Tim nodded and slowly shuffled his feet forward, pleased when he could move pretty well and still kept his balance. He got less wobbly and shot Jason a triumphant smile when he was able to skate on his own. Jason laughed and skated up next to him, turning on the spot to skate backwards.

Tim pouted. “Show off.”

Jason shrugged. He reached for Tim’s hand as the song changed to something far more upbeat. “Come on, I love this song.”

“Wait-Jason!” Tim exclaimed, clutching onto Jason’s arm.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.” He wrapped an arm around Tim’s waist and tugged him along at a faster pace, much to Tim’s dismay.

They made a loop around the floor just fine, but Tim became very, very aware of where Jason’s hand was resting when he noticed the people giving them looks that reminded him that they very much looked like the loving couple they were pretending to be. Which also brought up very clear memories of the day before when the two of them were in the midst of couple’s yoga and very close to each other.

The thoughts distracted him so much that he soon lost his concentration on what he was doing and lost his balance. Jason tightened his grip to try and keep him from falling. His efforts were fruitless as Tim grabbed onto his shoulder and brought them both down to the floor. Tim landed heavily on his back with Jason catching himself just before he crashed down on top of him.

“Shit! Tim are you okay, babe?” he asked, wide eyes searching his face. “You’re not hurt are you?”

Tim stared up at him for a moment before he felt his face heat up. He swallowed thickly as he realized how close they were and how he still hadn’t responded to Jason’s question. “Yeah, fine.”

“Thank, God.” Jason sat back and pushed himself up to his feet while Tim worked to sit up. He held out a hand to Tim who took it and got pulled to his feet. He held on to his hand tightly as they began to skate around the rink once more.

“You sure you’re not hurt?” Jason asked, concern obvious.

“I might be a little bruised tomorrow, but that’s about it,” Tim answered, trying not to focus on how Jason’s hand felt in his own.

“Sorry.” 

“Don’t be. I’m the one who pulled you down with me.”

Jason squeezed his hand and pulled him a little closer, moving his hand to the small of his back. Tim swallowed thickly and barely kept himself from closing his eyes. He didn’t need to fall again. And he didn’t need to think about how good it felt to have someone hold him close and show concern for his well-being.


	7. Chapter 7

A quiet ringing tugged at the ends of Tim’s consciousness. He groaned and turned away from the sound, hoping that it would go away. He was met with a warmth that enveloped him and sighed happily. He never wanted to get up if this was what he got to experience. The ringing paused for a moment before it started up again. He sighed, resigned to his fate and blinked open his eyes. What was in front of his face came into focus slowly and he tensed when he realized that he’d buried himself into Jason’s chest and that Jason was holding him very, very closely.

He swallowed thickly and tried to calm his heart as it went on a rampage in his chest. He was almost too frozen to move, but the ringing brought him back to the task at hand. He carefully maneuvered himself out of Jason’s arms, much to his unconscious grumbling and protesting and slipped from the bed. He walked over to the table and picked up his phone from where he left it the night before. He shot one last look at Jason who was still asleep in bed and slipped out onto the balcony so he wouldn’t disturb him.

“Hello?” he asked.

“Mr. Drake!” George exclaimed, relief flooding his voice. “Sorry to call you so early, but we didn’t want to keep the great news!”

“What is it? What’s happened?”

“After we found the file yesterday, we worked almost all night and have everything back on track! There should be no problem with meeting the deadline and at this point we might even be ahead of schedule.”

Tim felt relief flood through him at the words, but also a little guilt. “You worked all night to get caught up?”

“We did and we were more than happy to do it to surprise you this morning. You’re worked so hard for this company since you started here and being part of your team has been incredible for all of us and we just wanted to do something for you this time and help you relax as you enjoy the rest of your vacation,” he rambled. “Don’t even think about coming back to Gotham, especially now. You deserve the break and we’re all too happy to give it to you.”

Tim smiled even as the pressure began to build behind his eyelids. “Thanks, George. Tell everyone else that I think you’re all amazing and that you’re going to get some well-earned time off when I get back. I wouldn’t have been able to do anything I’ve done without the help of all of you.”

“Of course, Mr. Drake, of course. Sorry to disturb your morning and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your day.”

“You didn’t disturb it at all. Thank you, George.” Tim pulled the phone from his ear and hung up as the first few tears slid down his cheeks. He clutched the phone to his chest and looked out over the sparkling water that the sun was already being reflected off of it.

“Is everything okay?”

Tim sniffed and tried to wipe his eyes before looking over his shoulder at where Jason was standing in the doorway.

“You’re crying.” Jason crossed the two steps between them quickly and cupped his face to wipe away the tears.

“Happy crying,” Tim reassured him. “That was George on the phone. Apparently my team worked all night to get the project back to its original schedule and they’re possibly ahead on what needs to be done. I’m just really grateful for them, that’s all.”

Jason smiled and pulled him into a hug, crushing his face against his chest. One of Jason’s arms was wrapped tightly around Tim’s shoulders and the other was rubbing his back soothingly.

“I’m glad. I’m really glad that everything turned out okay.”

Tim let himself relax into the hug and just gave himself a moment to soak up the attention that Jason was giving him.

“We should do something fun today!” he exclaimed.

Tim laughed and pulled back from where he was still pressed up against, Jason’s chest. “Like what?”

“Let’s just do down to the beach and enjoy ourselves! You can leave your phone up here and we can enjoy the sun and sea. Go for a swim while everyone else is stupid and stays around the pool.”

Tim laughed again at Jason’s determination, trying not to focus too much on how much he cared that Jason cared. “Okay. Let’s go and get changed then.”

Jason whooped and pulled Tim back inside with him. He set down his phone on the table and grabbed his swim trunks from where they had been stuffed back into his suitcase after he dried them the last time they’d been worn. Jason moved into the bathroom to change and Tim started stripping next to the side of the bed, he left his shirt and boxers in a pile and bent over to stick his legs through his trunks. Just as he was pulling them up he heard the bathroom door open and watched as Jason froze in his tracks. Tim hastily pulled his swim trunks the rest of the way up even as his face began to burn.

“I guess I, uh…should’ve asked if you were done changing before I came out,” Jason said, clearing his throat.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

The two of them stayed where they were standing for too long.

“I guess that makes us even now, huh?” Jason said, forcing a laugh as he moved forward to throw his pajamas back into his own bag.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Tim grabbed a pair of towels for them and slipped on his shoes as Jason threw a tank top over his head and grabbed his sunglasses. And as they left the room and walked towards the elevator, Tim tried to forget the spark that he thought he might’ve glimpsed in Jason’s eyes when he saw him. He was probably imagining it anyway.

The pool deck was mostly empty since it was still early and the other guests were sleeping or enjoying breakfast. Tim handed a towel to Jason as their feet hit the warm sand and they laid them out on the available chairs the hotel kept on the beach.

“You have the sunscreen, right?” Tim asked.

“After all this time, you still doubt me,” Jason sighed, pulling the bottle from one of his pockets.

Tim smirked. “Just making sure.”

Tim appreciated the normalcy that returned to their conversation. It was welcome and helped him push the events of the past couple days from his mind. He didn’t want to focus on it and he didn’t want to worry about it. It was just something that happened and Tim just needed to keep telling himself that. He handed the bottle of sun block back to Jason and laid down on the chair on his stomach to enjoy the feeling of the sun.

“Do you need any sunscreen on your back?” Jason asked.

“Do you mind?” Tim asked where he was still laying down.

In response he heard the cap of the bottle being popped as Jason squirted some into his palms. Tim shivered for more than one reason when Jason’s hands came into contact with his skin. The lotion was cold against his warmed skin and Jason’s hands moved slowly over his back. Thankfully, he started at his shoulders and upper back, but Tim practically stopped breathing when Jason’s hands dipped lower, stopping just above the waistband of his swim trunks. It made him realize just how big Jason’s hands actually were.

“Uh, thanks,” he said when Jason moved away.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jason said. He finished covering himself and set the bottle between their chairs before stretching out on his back.

~~

It was a few hours, and Tim was fairly certain that he’d dozed off more than once, before the warmth and the strong rays from the Sun forced him to move from his chair. He sat up and stretched his arms over his head, sighing happily when a handful of places on his back popped and relaxed comfortably back into place.

“Where are you going?” Jason asked as he stood from his chair.

“I’m going in the water, of course. Want to come? Or are you enjoying the sun too much?” he said, smiling lazily.

Jason shrugged and pushed himself from his own chair, setting down his sunglasses and pulling his shirt over his head. Tim looked away quickly and started heading for the water. He shivered when the waves washed over his feet, the contrast extreme from the warmth that he’d soaked up all morning. He gasped when an arm came around his waist and lifted him from is feet.

“In you go!” Jason said, rushing forward and throwing him farther into the water.

“Jason!” he gasped, barely sucking in a breath before he crashed through the water and went under.

He came up quickly, spluttering and wiping his wet hair from his eyes. “Jason!”

Jason laughed and Tim narrowed his eyes at him. “You said you wanted to go in the water. I just helped you out a little bit.”

Tim smirked, eyes narrowing. “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Tim hurried forward as fast as he could and bent over, sweeping his arms up to splash Jason with as much water as possible. He flung his arms up to keep it out of his face. Most of the water hit his torso which was a bit disappointing, but Tim felt triumphant regardless. Jason flung the water from his arms as he lowered them and looked at Tim. He grinned wolfishly and Tim felt his stomach drop at the look, letting a split-second pass before he was trying to hurry away from Jason even as the water slowed him down.

“Oh no you don’t!” he heard him call out from behind him and the splashing of water as Jason gave chase.

Tim looked over his shoulder and let out a little noise of surprise at how quickly Jason was covering the distance between them. He turned and splashed water at Jason before continuing to move forward.

“You’re not getting away that easily.”

Tim managed to evade the first grab that Jason made for him, but was quickly caught around the waist.

“Got you,” Jason growled in his ear.

Tim shivered even as he struggled to get out of Jason’s grasp. “Let me down!”

“Hmm…I don’t think so.” Jason set him on his feet, but kept him tightly boxed in with his arms. He dug his fingers into Tim’s sides and Tim’s eyes widened. He only managed to open his mouth before Jason was tickling his sides mercilessly.

Tim laughed, bucking and tugging against Jason’s hold, trying to get away from his hands. He gasped, trying to suck in more air even as he laughs racked his whole body. He squirmed in Jason’s arms, trying to get away from his persistent fingers, but only ended up being held tighter. Finally, he just sagged in Jason’s arms, unable to fight it anymore.

“I give up. No more, please,” Tim gasped out.

Jason just laughed behind him and helped support him. “Looks like I’ve found your weakness,” he said, sounding far too pleased with himself.

“Ugh, I can’t go on. You’ve reduced me to a helpless puddle.”

Jason hummed behind him and Tim let out an exclamation when Jason suddenly swept an arm under his legs and picked him up.

“Jason!” Tim said, wrapping his arms around his neck. “What’re you doing?!”

“Well you didn’t seem like you were going to move anytime soon,” he said, chuckling.

Tim made a disgruntled noise as Jason waded further into the water. He looked over the ocean and the nearly blank horizon, the sparkling water nearly blinding him as he tried to judge how far he could see. Soon enough he gave up as the water pooled up around him. He sighed and rested his head against Jason’s shoulder, swallowing when he thought that Jason just might have tightened the grip that he had on him.

Out here, in the middle of the ocean, with the sun shining down on them, lighting the water with sparkling diamonds…nothing seemed to matter. All responsibilities and expectations fell away. There was only Tim and Jason, enjoying themselves. Any feelings that might have bloomed between them didn’t exist. There was no need to put a label on what was between them. It was a relief. Tim could just enjoy the feeling of Jason’s arms wrapped around him and the waves lapping at their skin, drops of water slipping between the crevices where their bodies didn’t quite meet.

“Jason! Hey Jason! Tim!”

Tim lifted his head from where it was resting on Jason’s shoulder and squinted at the shore.

“Who’s that?” he asked.

“Looks like Dick,” Jason murmured. “I don’t know how he spotted us, but we can go see what he wants.”

Tim moved to get out of his arms.

“Don’t worry about it, I can get us back,” he said, already walking back towards shore.

“Uh…okay.”

Tim hated that the spell was broken now. Hated that he could feel exactly where his body ended and Jason’s began. They lost the illusion and Tim couldn’t pretend anymore that there was more between them than the fact that he was just helping Jason out with lying to his family. He knew that he wasn’t as relaxed as he was before, but he didn’t know how to change that. It all seemed so impossible.

Jason didn’t put him down until they reached the shore and Tim steadfastly worked to avoid looking at the pleased expression that Dick wore. He was already disappointed enough. He didn’t need to be reminded that everyone else thought there was something more than there was.

“Now that I’ve finally found you, I want you guys dressed and ready to go in the lobby at eight.”

“Why?”

“Because…you two are coming with Wally and me to go dancing. I know how much you love to salsa, Jason, so there’s no point in arguing with me.”

“Uhhh…” he eloquently responded.

“Remember! Eight, tonight. Meet in the lobby!” Dick said as he walked away and headed for the stairs back up to the pool.

Jason turned to look at Tim. “Tim, do you even know how to dance?”

“No.”

“Do you think you can learn?”

Tim opened his mouth to respond, but only made a face that was close to a cringe.

“I’m going to take that as a maybe. Come on, we better go and see if we have anything decent to wear out tonight at least.”

He collected their towels and his shirt and headed towards the stairs as Tim followed behind him in a daze. His mind raced, trying to process everything that happened in a matter of seconds.

“Okay, I know you don’t have the most casual and breathable clothes, but show me what you’ve got at least. And no polos.”

“Yes, okay,” Tim said, rolling his eyes. He opened his suitcase and started rifling through his clothes, pulling out anything that might be suitable to dance in. He found a couple of pairs of shorts, a pair of white cotton capri pants, and even threw in the leggings that Dick had bought him for yoga for the heck of it. Finding a shirt was harder. He set the tank top on the bed that was also from yoga and managed to find the one other shirt that he’d brought that wasn’t a polo: a nice salmon-colored one that was made out of a thin polyester material.

“Okay, better than I was expecting,” Jason said as he tapped his chin in thought.

“Thanks?”

“I say go with the white pants and the salmon shirt.”

Tim shrugged. “Fine.”

“Anything else you want to do now that our day was interrupted?”

Tim thought for a minute. “Well, I wouldn’t mind some lunch. We haven’t exactly eaten yet.”

~~

Their late lunch passed in a blur and the next thing Tim realized was that he was standing in the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. He’d tucked the ends of his shirt into his pants, but the loose fabric still billowed out slightly from his stomach. He’d rolled up the sleeves to his elbows and left the top two buttons undone. He knew that Jason was outside waiting for him, but he still couldn’t quite grasp the fact that the two of them were going out dancing.

He took a deep breath before pulling the bathroom door open. Jason lifted his head from where he was laying on the bed, already dressed in a pair of dark-wash capri jeans that hugged his legs in all the right places and a loose black tee.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Tim said, nodding.

Jason pushed himself out of bed and pocketed the key to their room. He walked over to Tim and guided him to the door. “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. And if you’re really terrible, maybe I can convince whoever’s playing the music to put on the Cha Cha Slide. There’s no way you can mess that up, right?”

“Actually…”

“Christ. What happened?”

“While we were all cha cha-ing, I accidentally hit the person next to me in the nose with my hand. Blood got everywhere.”

Jason chuckled. “Are you serious right now?”

“Completely. I’m just that bad.”

“Well maybe we can fix that,” Jason said, throwing an arm around Tim’s shoulders as they entered the lobby and spotted Dick and Wally by the entrance.

“There you are! We’ve already got a car waiting,” Dick said, pulling Wally towards the front doors. Wally followed eagerly, staying close to his fiancé.

Jason rolled his eyes, but followed after them anyway.

~~

“Do you think you have an idea of how to salsa, now?” Jason asked.

Tim swallowed. He glanced to the side. Everyone else had swarmed the dance floor without a problem, all the couples picking up some set of dance moves easily and flowing together to the music.

“Hey.”

He looked up at Jason.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re not going to be paying any attention to you, okay?”

Tim let out a breath and nodded. “Okay.”

Jason gripped his hands loosely and slowly started going through the steps. Tim bit his lip and watched his feet, trying to keep up with where Jason was going to move next. He thought he was doing pretty well, until he moved forward straight into Jason’s chest when he was supposed to step back.

“Sorry. Look, maybe this wasn’t the best idea,” Tim said, weakly.

“It’s fine, Tim. You’re still learning.” He tapped the bottom of Tim’s chin and raised his eyes. “Keep your eyes up here, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now, let’s try this again.” Jason stepped forward, guiding Tim backwards. “Try and swivel your hips like I told you.”

Tim tried and knew that he was failing epically when Jason chuckled under his breath. He flushed.

“Not the worst, I’ve seen. Here, like this.” Jason placed his hands on Tim’s hips and he was very, _very_ aware of how large his hands were. They enveloped his slender waist easily and were firm in their movements as Jason guided him. Tim placed his hands on Jason’s shoulders, needing somewhere to put them as much as he needed the stability to not lose himself in the feeling of Jason’s hands.

Tim let himself be pulled along, keeping his own focus on Jason’s eyes as he stared right back. Dancing came easily this way. He didn’t have to focus, just let Jason guide him. Everything around them fell away and it was just like that afternoon when they were alone in their own little world. Jason ran his hands up Tim’s sides and his arms so that he could take Tim’s hands in his own.

He pushed them apart before pulling Tim back in and spinning him. He pulled him back in until his chest was up against Tim’s back. One of his hands settled back on Tim’s hip and the other splayed out across Tim’s stomach. Jason used his hips to guide Tim’s in the figure eight motion that he’d been trying to manage all night and Tim placed his hand over where Jason’s was on his stomach, needing something to draw support from.

Tim’s other hand came up to tangle in Jason’s hair and he turned his head, locking eyes with Jason once again. He felt hypnotized, like he couldn’t get enough oxygen, but couldn’t make himself take anything deeper than a shallow breath. Jason started to lean in, eyelids falling half-closed. Tim mimicked his movement, leaning in as well. Their lips met slowly, caressing, and testing, experimenting.

They grew in confidence, putting more feeling behind the kiss, stilling as they zeroed in on the feeling of their lips moving together. Tim tightened his hand in Jason’s hair and Jason pulled him impossibly closer. They broke apart, twin expressions of looking punch drunk as they searched each other’s faces. It was only a moment before they started to lean in again, seeking more.

“Okay, you two lovebirds. You’re not here to give everyone a show,” Dick said, pulling Wally close in a wild and loose dance.

Tim squeaked in alarm and pulled his hand from Jason’s hair to cover his mouth.

“Thanks for the reminder, now if you’ll excuse us,” Jason said, using his grip on him to pull them away from the other couple. He heard Dick snicker behind him and pulled Tim around to face him again. He cleared his throat. “Let’s try this again, shall we?”

Tim nodded, resigned to not looking Jason in the eye for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Jason groaned as a loud knocking sounded from the door. He blinked open his eyes and sighed at the fact that he would have to disentangle himself from Tim. Neither of them chose to mention the fact that they woke up in each other’s arms the past few mornings, but that didn’t mean that he liked the feeling any less.

“What is it?” Tim asked groggily as he was jostled in bed.

“Someone’s at the door. I’ll get it don’t worry,” he said, slipping from the bed.

“Okay,” Tim said, pulling the blanket tighter around himself and snuggling in his pillow.

Jason sighed at the loss of warmth and contact. He probably wouldn’t be able to get Tim back in his arms when he came back to bed. It was a shame really. He shuffled over to the door, covering his mouth in mid-yawn as he pulled it open. He squinted against the bright lights of the hallway.

“Finally!” Dick said, rolling his eyes.

“Dick? Why are you here so early?” Jason asked, leaning against the door frame. “The wedding isn’t until tomorrow.”

“You think I don’t know that? It’s my wedding. And I’m here because it’s bachelor party day!”

“And?” Jason asked.

Dick pouted. “And so we need to celebrate. You’re obviously coming with me since you’re my best man and Tim is going with Bart and Wally.”

“Why are we getting started so early?” Jason groaned. “You’re not planning on starting to drink yet, are you?”

Dick made a face. “No, of course not. We won’t be drinking until tonight. And we have to keep it tame because I will not be hungover for my wedding tomorrow.”

“There is nothing tame about you when you go out to drink. The last time we went drinking in a club you got up on one of the poles and started pole dancing.” Jason heard Tim snort from where he was on the bed and made a mental note to tell him the full story later. “What on Earth are you planning to do at your bachelor party?”

“Just have some fun, of course. And I looked fabulous on that pole.”

“I’m not saying you didn’t, I’m just saying that since we don’t want you hungover tomorrow, it’s probably not going to be what you’re used to. You should’ve planned your bachelor party for earlier this week.”

Dick shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, does it? Just get dressed and come down to breakfast. I’d like to spend some alone time with you today, at least. I’ve barely seen you all week since you’ve been spending so much time with your boyfriend.”

“What did you expect when you had the both of us come?”

Dick shrugged. “Nothing really. I’ll see you later, okay? Try not to let too much of the day pass by,” he called over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway.

“I’m not leaving this hotel before noon so don’t come bothering me before then!” Jason sighed and closed the door behind him.

“So tell me about his pole dancing thing,” Tim spoke up from the bed. He pushed himself into a sitting position and leaned against the headboard while Jason walked over. Jason groaned and practically fell on top of the bed, throwing an arm around Tim’s waist and pulling him close as he laughed.

“Well, there’s not much to tell other than Dick got super drunk and _Every Time We Touch_ by Cascada came on. Dick loves that song and absolutely flipped saying that he had to dance to it. So he stumbled onto the stage and started pole dancing. It was a little sloppy at first, but he found his rhythm and actually put on a pretty good performance. He’s basically an acrobat so he made it look so easy and he’s so fucking flexible, you have no idea. Everyone there lost it and started throwing money at him. I think we actually made back everything we spent on drinks because of it…”

Tim laughed. “Please tell me that you have videos.”

“Just who do you think you’re talking to, babe? Of course I have videos!” Jason sighed. “I can show them to you later. It’s not the best quality, but I was also drunk so I think it’s pretty forgivable.”

Tim rested his hand in Jason’s hair and brushed it through the sleep-mussed strands.

“You’ll have to record anything good that happens tonight.”

“Ditto for Wally.”

“Is he going to mind if I’m at his bachelor party?”

“You think he would mind?”

“Maybe…I know that I’m Bart’s friend, but I only met him earlier this week…”

“Wally’s a great guy. He’d want you to be included. Honestly, if he knew that you were foregoing it just to end up locked in here alone all day, he would be pissed and probably yell at me for doing something wrong.”

“I can’t imagine Wally being angry,” Tim mused.

“It doesn’t happen often, but when it does…watch out.” Jason yawned. “For now though, let’s just go back to sleep.”

Tim wiggled down from his sitting position so he was laying again and Jason pulled him closer even as sleep pulled him under.

~~

Jason sighed as Dick pulled him into a cab. Luckily, Wally and Bart had been waiting in the lobby when he and Tim had come down so he knew that Tim wouldn’t be waiting around alone. He didn’t know what they had planned for the day but he was a little wary as to where Dick was going to tug him along to.

“You don’t have to look so worried,” Dick said as they got settled into the back of the cab. “I don’t have anything crazy planned. I mainly just wanted to go out for lunch and have a few drinks.”

Jason arched an eyebrow. “Really? That’s all you have planned?”

“Well there might be a few other things in there…”

“That’s what I thought. As long as we don’t get arrested and we’re not too hungover for the wedding tomorrow, I guess it could be okay.”

The car stopped in front of a seemingly low-key restaurant, but Jason knew to never take the outward appearance of a building for granted. It would either end up being something higher class that Bruce would go to, or it would be something totally unexpected that Dick managed to find. Dick paid the driver and the two of them climbed from the backseat.

Jason was pleasantly surprised that the restaurant seemed to be something modest. It had a warm atmosphere and the pastel yellow walls made it comfortable and welcoming.

“Reservation for Grayson,” Dick said to the woman working.

She nodded and picked up two menus. “Right this way, please.”

The restaurant was decently filled since it was later than the usual lunch time when many people went out to eat and enjoy themselves. They were led to a table next to the windows that overlooked the back patio where more tables were filled with people who were enjoying the weather under the comfort of an umbrella. Jason took the leather-bound menu as it was held out to him and immediately opened to the first page.

The prices weren’t too outrageous, but it was still a place that Jason wouldn’t pick out for himself. He’d rather go to a smaller scale restaurant that didn’t specifically cater to a wealthier class. He flipped to the lunch specials and found a decent offering of sandwiches. He quickly decided and flipped the menu closed, setting it on the edge of the table. Dick too much longer to make his way through the pages, choosing to read through practically every dish that they offered before deciding on one.

Almost as soon as he closed his menu, their waiter appeared.

“What would you like to drink this afternoon?” he asked.

“Water for me,” Dick said.

“I’ll take a coke, please.”

“Very good. Are you ready to order now or would you like a few more minutes?” he followed up.

“We’re ready to order now,” Jason said. “I’ll have the house special sandwich with fries on the side.”

“And I’ll take the spaghetti Bolognese,” Dick supplied when the waiter turned to him.

“Wonderful. I’ll put this in and return shortly with your drinks.”

He walked away leaving the two of them alone.

“So…” Dick said, leaning back in his chair.

“So…?”

“You seem to be getting along really well with Tim.”

“Why wouldn’t we? We’re dating after all.”

“I was just surprised by last night is all. You two seemed pretty caught up in each other on the dance floor. I thought that I was going to have to pull you apart.”

“We were just dancing. It’s not like we were ripping each other’s clothes off to start an orgy in the middle of the floor.”

“No…but it sure looked like it when the two of you kissed.”

Jason’s stomach clenched as the memory flashed through his mind. They hadn’t talked about it the night before and he wondered briefly if he should’ve broached the topic that morning with Tim. He didn’t want him to think that it didn’t mean anything or was just a stupid kiss, because it _wasn’t_ just a kiss. It was everything that Jason could’ve ever dreamed or imagined or wanted from him and he would’ve loved to feel those lips against his own again. He didn’t want Tim to think that he was just using him, because even though he’d agreed to come and pretend to be his boyfriend, Jason had already far surpassed the point of no return.

“It was a just a kiss. We were lost in the heat of the moment, that’s all.”

Their conversation paused as their waiter returned and set down two glasses on their table before walking away.

“Tim just didn’t seem all that comfortable at the beginning of the week and when I caught the two of you kissing that just seemed so different from when you got here.”

“He was just nervous,” Jason said, quickly scrambling to put together some sort of excuse. “He was nervous to come and meet all of you and didn’t want to make a bad impression so that kept him pretty on edge when we first got here. And then the whole thing happened with his project and his work and that was his focus.”

“That worked out though, didn’t it?” Dick asked, concern showing easily. He always cared for people. Maybe too much.

“Yeah. He got a call yesterday from his team saying that it was back on track, maybe even slightly ahead of schedule so there’s not going to be a problem. He’s still heading back before me though so that he can check everything and watch the progress as their deadline approaches and they prepare to present it.”

Dick hummed and fell silent as he took a drink from his glass.

“Have the two of you slept together yet?”

“Dick!”

“What?”

“Why would I tell you something like that?”

“Because I’m your brother and you seem pretty serious about Tim so I’m curious.” He acted so innocent, but Jason knew that his protective instincts were just manifesting themselves. He wasn’t sure if it was for his benefit or Tim’s at this point.

Jason looked out the window to preoccupy himself. “No. We haven’t slept with each other. That’s not something that’s been the focus of our relationship and we just haven’t gotten there yet.”

“I’m not saying that you should’ve or that you need to have sex, I was just curious. You care about him. A lot.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Do you think you’re going to ask him to marry you?”

Jason looked at Dick, eyes wide. He opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find something to say. “I…don’t know,” he answered honestly. “That feels like it’s so far away and I know that I’m certainly not ready to take that step, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t know. It’s a possibility. I could see the two of us living together. Especially after this past week, but marriage….I’m not sure.”

Dick shrugged. “Like you said, it’s off in the future, but you guys work really well together and you obviously care about each other a lot. Maybe you’ll be next to get married and you just don’t realize it yet.”

Jason swallowed thickly, feeling uneasy about the past week. He’d thought that it would be so easy and no big deal to lie to his family for a whole week about having a boyfriend. About Tim being his boyfriend. But he hadn’t expected all of it to go so well or to actually start liking his neighbor. It was unexpected, but not unwelcome. He just didn’t know how Tim felt about it all. He just hoped that after the next day, Tim wouldn’t up and disappear on him forever.

He didn’t want to pretend like everything that had happened meant nothing. He wanted to keep Tim in his life and if that meant just as a friend then that was fine. If it meant just having short interactions in the hallway then that was also fine. If it meant that he would have to kick a hole through the wall to get his attention then it was no big deal. He’d pay for the repair damages this time.

And now that his stomach was officially twisted into knots, the food that was set in front of him didn’t look appetizing at all. As Dick chattered on about the wedding and about Wally and where they were going on their upcoming honeymoon, he just wanted to go find Tim and drag him back to their hotel room. He wanted to return to those peaceful moments from that morning and pull him into bed and just lay together.

He wanted to make Tim laugh and smile. He wanted to be the reason that Tim got a soft smile on his face and looked fond. He wanted to make him happy and as much as he hated to be upset, he wanted to be the person that was able to comfort Tim when he most needed it. And maybe he was selfish. Maybe he was a complete idiot for thinking that he could get through the whole week without a problem, but for once, things were in perfect clarity for him and all the signs around him pointed at Tim.

Jason made a silent resolution that he wouldn’t let the wedding be the end of it. It couldn’t be.

Lunch passed in a blur. Jason let himself be tugged along by Dick afterwards. He thought they went shopping or walked around town, but he was honestly so preoccupied with thoughts of Tim that it didn’t even matter what they were doing. He was impressed with his ability to hold a conversation even when his mind was off with Tim wherever he was with Wally and Bart. But he’d developed the skill to handle Dick without paying attention to him early on.

He remembered that they went to a club. There were drinks and he had to stop Dick from going absolutely crazy. He thought that Dick might’ve still had a little more than he needed, but the wedding wasn’t until the afternoon so he would have a little more time to sleep it off if he needed to. Jason just knew that he’d done a pretty decent job since Dick didn’t start swinging from a chandelier or doing backflips off tables. He didn’t need them to get kicked out of a bar again because of that.

The alcohol had helped to quiet his swirling thoughts somewhat, but it still wasn’t enough to drown out his focus on Tim. He was more than happy when they were finally able to call it a night and he pulled Dick into a cab and told them the address of their hotel. Jason dropped Dick off with Wally first, glad that he was still awake and seemed pretty competent himself. He suspected that he hadn’t involved a lot of alcohol in his day.

He shuffled back to his room tiredly and sluggishly used the keycard to open the door, having to try two or three times before he was actually able to get it open. He left the light off and kicked off his shoes, too exhausted to take a shower or change or do anything else. He was consumed with his need to get in bed and get some sleep.

Tim was already laying under the covers on his side, the blanket over him rising and falling slowly as he breathed evenly in his sleep. Jason was once again hit with his wish that this wouldn’t end. And he resolved himself to the fact that if he was only going to get to sleep with him two more times, than he was going to make the most of it.

He pulled the blanket back gently and slid underneath it. He didn’t even care that he was still fully clothed and would regret it in the morning. His focus was on Tim and he wrapped his arm securely around his waist, pulling him to his chest before letting his head fall to the pillow and his eyes slide shut. Jason didn’t even stay awake long enough to notice that Tim relaxed against him. He was already asleep and if he had been awake, he would’ve worried and argued with himself over whether the action was subconscious or not.


	9. Chapter 9

_I can tell that he really cares about you. More than you probably know. He doesn’t have relationships often, but when he does, he truly cares about his partners and would do anything for them. Be gentle with his heart._

The words rang through Tim’s brain all night. He laid awake far past the time when Jason had come back and pulled him up against his chest. The action making him realize how much he couldn’t relax until Jason was there with him. Wally had been so earnest when he’d talked to him yesterday and he could barely put together a coherent sentence in response.

It’d stuck with him though. Made him think about all of his interactions with Jason over the past week. Their attitudes towards each other had certainly become more relaxed and they’d become more comfortable with each other. Tim had no doubt of his own growing feelings for him, but when he thought about Jason liking him…he just couldn’t picture it.

Jason was amazing and kind and funny and he knew just what to do to help Tim calm down and bring him back when he’d been freaking out earlier in the week. He could honestly have anyone in the world.

So Tim had hardly been able to sleep and was already awake when the sun broke over the horizon, sending its first rays through the sheer curtains that covered the windows that opened onto the balcony. He let himself enjoy the feeling of having Jason practically wrapped around him and prepared himself for a long day ahead of him. He would be on his own for the most part since Jason would have to help Dick and Bart would be with Wally. It didn’t bother him though. It would let him prepare for the inevitable when he went back to Gotham.

He lifted his head and looked over his shoulder at where Jason was still sleeping peacefully. Tim shifted experimentally to see if he might accidentally wake him. When Jason didn’t make any move Tim shifted again, slowly moving until he was on his back. He paused to reevaluate the situation and was satisfied when Jason didn’t move at all. He shifted again until he was on his side facing Jason.

This time, Jason made a low noise of what sounded like protest and his grip tightened on Tim, but he didn’t wake up. Tim let his head rest on the pillow next to Jason’s and brought his arms up between their chests, letting his hands rest lightly on where Jason’s elbow and bicep stuck out from underneath the pillow. He closed his eyes, content to wait until Jason woke up or someone came to wake them up. After yesterday, he never knew what was going to happen with Dick running around.

Tim didn’t end up falling asleep again, but he knew the exact moment when Jason woke up. He sucked in a breath through his noise and groaned, hand flexing where it was resting on his hip. Tim opened his eyes only to watch Jason blink the sleep from his own.

“Tim?” he asked.

“Morning.”

“How long have you been up?” he asked, fingers rubbing circles into his lower back.

Tim did his best to shrug from where he was laying down.

“Okay. Do you want to go downstairs and get some breakfast then? We might as well eat now before things get too crazy.”

“Things could already be crazy and we just don’t know because we haven’t stepped foot outside that door.”

“Shit, you’re right.”

Tim laughed quietly, earning a smile from Jason.

“Come on,” he said, patting Tim’s hip. “Let’s get dressed in something relaxed and go downstairs to get something to eat.”

Tim rolled away from Jason and pushed himself out of bed. He walked over to his suitcase and pulled out the last of the casual clothes that he packed. He pulled out the dress pants and dress shirt that he was going to wear to the wedding later and set them out on the bed. They weren’t too wrinkled, but he still might have to iron them later.

After a quick change of clothes, Jason and Tim headed down to the dining room for breakfast. The room was filled with everyone there for the wedding. Bruce and Dick were sitting at their own table and Tim saw Wally’s entire family there with him for the first time. Both groups were deep in conversation and Tim and Jason secured a table for themselves amidst it all.

“They must all be going over last minute details or whatever,” Jason said, setting down two cups of coffee as Tim set down their plates of food.

“Shouldn’t you be involved with that, then?” Tim asked as he took a sip of his coffee and sighed happily.

Jason shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll be dragged into everything the rest of the day and I’d much rather get a chance to at least enjoy breakfast with you before I’m whisked away to make sure that Dick stays calm.”

Tim tightened his grip on his mug. “You’ll see me at the reception.”

“True. And since there’s not a huge number of people in attendance, there’s not really a table for everyone in the wedding party. Although if there was, I’m sure that Dick would have seated you at it anyway.”

Tim shrugged. “I’m sure that I would’ve been fine either way.”

They tucked into their meal, but it wasn’t long before Dick rushed over to their table to try and pull Jason away.

“Dick, can’t I at least finish my breakfast, first?” he asked, shoving another forkful of eggs into his mouth even as Dick tugged on his arm to try and pull him from the chair. Tim had to hide his smile behind his second cup of coffee.

“You should’ve gotten up earlier, come on, we need to get going.”

“Dick, Wally is still sitting down and eating with his family. There’s plenty of time before the wedding is set to start. It’s not until this afternoon. Did you at least eat a decent breakfast that didn’t solely consist of cereal? I swear to God if B didn’t-“

“Yes, I ate more than cereal. Come on, Jason!”

Jason shoved one last bite of food in his mouth and downed the rest of his coffee before shoving his chair back. “Alright fine! I’m coming! I’ll see you later, Tim, okay?”

Tim snickered and nodded.

“My boyfriend doesn’t even show me any sympathy. What’s this world coming to?”

He waved as they walked off and mentally cheered that this meant he could have another cup of coffee without worrying about Jason judging him for it. Or taking his cup away.

Until Bruce sat down across from him.

“Mr. Wayne,” Tim spluttered, hastily swallowing his coffee and trying to hide his wince as it nearly burned his throat. “Is there something that I can do for you?”

“Relax, Tim. This isn’t anything formal. I simply want to talk to you as my son’s boyfriend, not as my employee,” he said, leaning against the back of the chair.

Tim tried to follow his suggestion, but knew that it would be impossible.

“I don’t know how much Jason has told you about my relationship with him and it’s not my business for you to tell me if he has or hasn’t discussed something. What I am saying is that we haven’t always been on the best of terms and since I can’t be there for him in the way that he always needs, I hope that you can support him when he does need it. Dick has been talking with me of some observations he’s made this week and he’s reassured me on more than one account that the two of you care for each other deeply and that he even has hopes the two of you will be next to get married.”

Tim felt his face heat up. Even if they weren’t pretending to date, there was no way that he was ready for that yet.

Bruce chuckled at his reaction. “No need to look so horrified. We’re not going to force you to get married. You and Jason are still young and it’s not something that everyone wants. But know this…if you hurt my son, things will become very…unpleasant.”

Tim swallowed thickly. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and make sure that preparations are going according to plan today.”

Tim watched as he pushed his chair back and left the dining room without looking back. His breath left him in a rush when he finally walked through the glass doors and disappeared into the lobby. He could feel his heart beating painfully in his chest and felt like he’d just survived death. He looked around and found the West family still very much involved in their own conversation. Resigned to spending most of the day alone, Tim pushed his own chair back and headed for the elevator. He could at least try to get a bit of sleep after the night before.

Tim spent most of the day enjoying the sunshine on the balcony of his and Jason’s room. He was pretty certain that he dozed off once or twice, but it left him feeling far more awake and alert than he’d been earlier and he knew that he’d probably need the added energy to make it through the reception after the wedding.

His phone buzzed on the table next to him. At first he thought that it was the alarm that he set for when he needed to get up and change, but it was just a text from Jason.

_Jason: A little over an hour until the wedding. You better not miss it._

Tim grinned.

_Tim: You know what, I think I’ll just stay up here on the balcony and work on my tan. I’m sure that I’ll be able to see the proceedings from up here anyway._

_Jason: I swear to God, Tim. I will come up there and drag you down to the beach if I have to._

_Tim: Is that a threat?_

_Jason: No. It’s a promise. Don’t test me because I am more than willing to come up there right now._

_Tim: That’s not a good idea, Jason. Dick might need you._

_Jason: Dick’s fine. But you won’t be._

Tim laughed and propped his feet up on the railing in front of him.

_Tim: Ooooh scary. I’m shaking._

_Jason: I’m so disappointed babe. If it’s this easy to sneak up on you…_

Tim shivered and forced himself to not look over his shoulder. There was no way that Jason could be behind him. He would’ve heard the door open. He was alone.

_Tim: Cut the bullshit. There’s no way you’re behind me._

_Jason: You sure about that?_

He turned his head an inch, trying to see out of his periphery. He knew that Jason wasn’t behind him. There was no way, but now that he’d gotten him on edge he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Taking a deep breath, Tim snapped his head around…and faced an empty room. He sagged back in his chair, letting out the breath that he’d been holding.

_Tim: You’re an ass_

_Jason: But I’m your ass_

Tim swallowed, chest tightening at the words. He wished, he really did. He gripped his phone tightly in his hand and looked out over the ocean, losing himself in his thoughts.

He jumped when he felt his phone vibrate in his hand, thinking that no time had passed, but was shocked to see that it had actually been several minutes since Jason’s last text.

_Jason: Hey…where’d you go?_

_Tim: Sorry, just got a little distracted, that’s all._

_Jason: You sure?_

_Tim: Positive_

_Jason: Okay, then you better get ready for the wedding. Less than an hour until we start and it’s best if you get changed and get down to your seat with enough time. Dick’ll probably complain to me if you show up at the last minute._

_Tim: Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll see you down there, then._

Tim pushed himself from his chair and walked back into the bedroom. He set his phone down on the table and walked over to where he’d put his dress pants and dress shirt earlier. He smoothed his hands over the fabric, pleased that all of the wrinkles had fallen away since he’d laid it out. He pulled his shirt off and threw it on top of his suitcase before sliding is arms through the loose fabric of his shirt. It wasn’t the nicest button up that he owned, he saved those for work, but it was still fairly good quality and thought that it was fitting to have something slightly more casual at a beach wedding.

He pushed off the shorts that he was wearing and picked up the black dress pants that he’d brought, sliding his legs into them and tucking his powder blue shirt into the waistband. Tim picked up the dark blue tie that he’d brought with him and looped it around his neck, forming the knot easily after so many years of practice.

He walked over to the full-length mirror that was hanging in their room to look over his appearance. He thought all the colors went well together, but thought that he’d look out of place in some sense. He let his eyes rove over where his sleeves came to be buttoned around his wrists. He reached for the buttons and hesitated, wondering if he was going to be pushing his luck with a move like this. He didn’t want to be too casual at a wedding. But this was also Dick’s wedding and it was on a beach so in his mind it made sense.

Tim undid the buttons quickly before he could stop himself and then rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. He smiled when he looked back in the mirror, turning slightly to admire how the fabric of his shirt lay over his stomach and hugged his sides in just the slightest way.

“Perfect.”

His phone vibrated again where it was on the table and he walked over to see what it was now.

_Jason: Where are you? The Wests all just got down to the lobby._

_Tim: Calm down, Jay. I just finished getting dressed and I’ll be down in a minute. I still have 30 min before it’s set to start anyway._

He slipped his phone into his pocket and grabbed the pair of casual black shoes he’d brought for the occasion, not wanting to get his nice dress shoes covered or filled with sand. He slipped the room key in his pocket and walked out, heading for the elevator and the wedding.

Jason had been right that the Wests were already seated outside on the beach. There was one last seat waiting for him in the back next to Bart and he was glad that he would get to be next to a familiar face.

“Hey Bart,” Tim said as he sat down.

“’Sup Tim! Oh wow, Jason’s going to love that.”

Tim looked down at himself. “What? It’s not bad is it?”

“No! No, not at all. It looks really good. Wait until you see him. I caught a glimpse earlier when he was popping out of the room that Dick was in to grab something or other and I just gotta say that the people who dressed him did a great job.”

“Uhhh…”

“Oh look, they must be getting ready to start soon,” Bart said, turning in his chair.

Tim looked over his shoulder, expecting Dick or Wally to be coming down the stairs but instead found Jason stepping lightly onto the sand. Tim’s breath caught in his throat, his mouth going dry at the image in front of him. Jason was wearing black dress pants, a deep red button up and a black vest. Like Tim, the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to the elbows. He smiled when he caught sight of Tim and made a beeline for him, offering an easy smile.

“Hey Tim. Wow, you look great,” he said, placing a hand between Tim’s shoulder blades.

Tim felt his face heat up at the compliment. “Thanks, uh, so do you. Is Dick currently freaking out or is Dick currently freaking out?”

“He’s actually fine at this moment and is getting ready to come down. He was more excited than freaking out earlier. I had to stop him from doing backflips off a chair multiple times and even had to pull him back into the room because he really wanted to swing from a chandelier. I told him that it wouldn’t hold his weight, but apparently some of his acrobat friends have done it before and told him that he had to try it at least once in his life.”

Tim made a face.

“Yeah, that was my reaction exactly. I didn’t want to have to tell Wally that Dick fucking broke his leg or some shit trying this. I told him he had free reign until the reception because then it won’t be my problem anymore. It’ll be Wally’s problem.”

Tim laughed. “I guess that’s the good thing about being married. Everyone else doesn’t have to take responsibility for you anymore.”

Jason grinned. “You got that right. Oh, here they come, I better go get in position. Meet you at the reception, babe,” he said, planting a quick kiss on Tim’s cheek before moving away to the area in front of the seats.

Tim’s eyes widened and he shifted in his seat, hand moving to push a lock of hair behind his ear, feeling more than a little self-conscious.

“Ooh, someone’s blushing,” Bart whispered next to him.

“Shut up,” Tim hissed.

The officiate was the first person to walk down the aisle between the chairs. When he took his place everyone stood and turned to watch as Wally and Dick passed between the rows of chairs holding hands. Tim was confused as to why Bruce wasn’t there until he noticed him in the front row. He just hadn’t seen him among everyone else.

“Family, friends,” the officiate began as everyone resumed their seats, “we are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Wallace West and Richard Grayson in a lifelong union.”

As he continued, Tim took in Dick and Wally, they were facing each other and holding their joined hands between them. Wally was smiling easily and Dick was biting his lip, excitement evident and gaze unwavering from Wally’s. Jason was standing off to the side, but there was no mistaking the smile that he wore as well. As much as Tim had seen the two of them bicker over the past week and poke fun and make jabs, they were still brothers and still cared a great deal for each other.

It shouldn’t have surprised Tim that the two of them would have chosen to write their own vows, but they did. Even if the statements weren’t the most artistic or elegant, the meaning behind them was clear and the love they held for each other shone through. He heard a stifled sniffling coming from someone in front of him and suspected that it was Wally’s mother.

“Wallace West and Richard Grayson, I know pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss the groom.”

Wally pulled Dick to him and brought their lips together. Dick freed one of his hands and tangled it in Wally’s bright red hair. Tim applauded with everyone else even as Bart let loose an ear-piercing whistle next to him. He laughed and when he looked up again, caught Jason watching him.

The newlyweds finally broke apart, grinning and headed back up the aisle to lead everyone else to the reception. Tim hung back to let the large family go first since they seemed eager to congratulate the couple. Jason caught up to him as they exited the lobby and headed down the hall towards the event room.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Tim said. “That was a lot more low-key than I was expecting.”

Jason snorted. “We haven’t gotten to the reception yet.”

“Should I save myself and flee now?”

“Nope,” Jason said, snaking an arm around his waist. “If I have to endure this, so do you.”

The double doors had been propped open for the reception. The lighting was muted to a dim blue and white strips of cloth had been pinned from the walls to the center of the ceiling. It had the effect of resembling a circus tent, which was all too fitting for someone like Dick. There were few tables set up and decorated and a large area of space was left free to dance in, a DJ having already started her set.

The food was set up in a buffet style and a large cake was decorated on a separate table, waiting to be cut. One of the members of the hotel staff was behind the bar serving drinks, one of which Dick was halfway through, much to Tim’s amusement.

“Want to get something to eat?” Jason asked.

“Sure. You grab the food and I’ll get the drinks?”

“You got it.”

They split off in different directions, the muted chatter offered nice background noise and it seemed everyone else had similar ideas of helping themselves to the food behind Jason.

Drinks were had quickly, food was eaten, and the cake was cut. Everyone circled the dance floor as Wally and Dick had their first dance. Mr. and Mrs. West were the first to join them and it was only a moment later when Jason was pulling Tim onto the dance floor.

“Jason…you know I can’t dance,” Tim said voice hesitant and nervous.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, wrapping and arm around Tim’s waist and taking one of Tim’s hands in his other. “You’ll be fine. Just follow my lead. I promise that this won’t get as complicated as the other night when we tried to salsa.”

“Oh-okay,” Tim said, gripping tightly to Jason’s hand and placing his other one on Jason’s shoulder as memories of the kiss they’d shared flashed through his mind. He swallowed, trying to push them from his head, but failing miserably.

“Relax, Tim,” Jason said, pulling him closer.

Tim took a breath and looked up, locking eyes with Jason who smiled at him. He smiled back and let himself get pulled around the dance floor. They stayed close together and he found that Jason was right in that the steps weren’t quite as complicated, not that Tim was any better at executing them because of it. Eventually, they just settled for swaying slowly back and forth as the song neared its end.

The music took a turn from there and became something far more upbeat. Jason immediately grinned at the change in tempo and took both of Tim’s hands in his. He pushed them apart first before pulling Tim back in and spinning him quickly.

“Jason wha-“ he began, certain that he was going to end up tripping over both his feet.

“Relax, Tim.”

“You seem to be telling me that an awful lot.”

“Well maybe you could stand to actually listen to it and just enjoy the ride. I won’t let you get hurt, I promise,” he said, pulling Tim in again and then dipping him towards the floor while keeping their gazes locked.

“I’m just not very good at dancing.”

“Nah, Tim. You’re doing great, okay? Just trust me a little bit.”

Tim nodded once and Jason pulled him back up. The music changed back to something slower and Jason returned them to a more formal dance position.

“Time for the bouquet toss!”

Jason and Tim paused in their dancing looking over to where Dick was waving a bouquet of flowers over his head excitedly.

“Bouquet? But you didn’t have one during the ceremony,” Tim spoke up.

Dick shrugged. “So? I still want to do it. Now come on Tim join everyone else!”

“Why me?” he asked, affronted.

“Come _on_ , Tim,” Bart said, racing over to him and pulling him to join the group of women standing around Dick.

“I don’t see why I-“

“Just let him have this, please.”

Dick turned around with more than enough flair and bent his knees before launching the fake flowers over his head. Everyone in front of him eagerly outstretched their hands in the hopes of catching it.

“Bart,” Tim said, putting his hands in front of him in a type of pleading gesture, “I really don’t see-“

A blur of red passed in front of his face and the next thing that Tim was looking at was the bouquet that had somehow just landed in his arms.

“Uhh…”

There was a chorus of cheers and awes around him, both in congratulations and disappointment.

“Nice catch, Tim,” Jason said, walking over to join him and inspect the flowers that had now taken residence in his arms.

“I guess this means that you and Jason are going to be the next to get married!” Dick cheered as Wally wrapped his arms around his waist from behind and perched his chin on his shoulder.

“Huh?!” Tim looked between the cheering group and Jason’s slightly shocked face, feeling a blush spreading over his own cheeks.

He tried to stop his brain before it got started, he really did, but once the thought had been introduced every part of his imagination fixated on it. He wondered if Jason would wear something similar to what he wore today. The deep red did suit him. Would Tim wear a matching color? Or would he choose something else? Would they write their own vows or not? Jason probably would. He was good with words and could be sappy and romantic when he wanted to be and he liked to read. That already gave him an advantage over Tim.

Would their wedding be small like this one with only a few close friends and family or would it be larger? Would Tim even have anyone else to invite besides his small group of friends anyway? Would they do a destination wedding or would they hold it in a church in Gotham? Would they move into Jason’s apartment? Or Tim’s?

Tim could imagine it honestly. Them sharing a bed, tangled together under the sheets. Jason trying to confiscate his coffee machine, but Tim ultimately winning out. Them cuddling on the couch watching a show or a movie and maybe ordering pizza. Would they get a dog? Tim had thought about it before but knew that it wasn’t something that he would ever be able to handle on his own.

“Tim? You okay?” Jason asked, forcefully pulling him back to the present. Everyone that had been around him had moved off to either return to their dancing or grab more drinks or cake. He forced himself to relax, forced his hands to loosen their death grip on the flowers.

“Uh, yeah. I think I’m going to grab another slice of cake, you want one?” he asked, trying to brush off his very obvious reaction to the mention of the two of them getting married.

“Sure, I’ll come with you.”

Tim nodded and turned towards the table. He barely stopped himself from flinching when Jason’s palm came to rest on his lower back, sure and strong where it was supporting him. He refused to read into it more than what was there. He was just concerned because Tim had zoned out. It didn’t mean anything. And that was the thought that hurt most of all.

Tim kept telling himself for the rest of the night to let it go. To just leave the bouquet in the event room or throw it out because holding onto it and caressing the roses and admiring their color was only going to make the heartbreak worse for him. There was no denying his feelings anymore. He’d accepted them earlier that week after things kept happening with Jason and it just seemed that he couldn’t stop himself from noticing him.

It was why he knew that he was going to have to leave sooner than he thought. He had to get out of the hotel and get away from Jason before he did something that would ruin it all and that was the last thing that he wanted. Jason had trusted him to play his fake boyfriend and he’d done that. He’d gotten through the wedding and now he needed to leave.

He let Jason take his shower first. It gave him more time to wallow in self-loathing and stare at the flowers that he was still holding. He couldn’t seem to let them go because they represented so many possibilities and hopes that were going to be lost and there was nothing that Tim could do about it. He knew that Jason had been watching him and had probably noticed that he hadn’t been able to put the flowers down, but he thankfully hadn’t questioned him about it. It saved him from making up some kind of lie.

So when Jason walked out of the bathroom and crawled under the covers to go to sleep, Tim set the flowers aside and went to quietly rifle through his bag. He discreetly packed up all the clothes that had gotten taken out and he gathered his pajamas and his phone in his arms before slipping into the bathroom and locking the door behind him. He turned on the shower and stripped down to his boxer briefs before making himself at home on top of the toilet seat lid.

Tim opened the web browser on his phone and immediately began to search for plane tickets back to Gotham for the next morning. Since it was only a domestic flight he was lucky and there was one before 7am. He booked the ticket quickly, paying with the credit card that he’d memorized the information for long ago in case he ever got into situations where he needed to make a quick purchase and couldn’t afford to take it out of his wallet.

He sighed and placed his phone down gently on the counter. It was a relief really. He’d leave in the middle of the night and grab a cab to the airport and before Jason was even awake he’d be back in Gotham and headed back to his apartment where he would wait for the inevitable breakdown to hit. Because as much as he was doing this to save the both of them from any awkwardness, he knew that he’d become too attached and would have to suffer through the crash and burn alone.

Bracing himself against the oncoming pain, and finding some satisfaction that he would be the only one hurt as a result of his feelings and his decision, Tim stripped out of his boxer briefs and stepped into the shower. Hopefully the scalding hot water would be enough to wash away his shame and self-loathing.


	10. Chapter 10

Jason woke slowly, trying to bury himself in the blanket that had become bunched around himself and keep his head in the softness of the pillow. He didn’t want to be up yet. Yesterday had been long and the reception had been fun and he just wanted to lay in bed with Tim and not worry about anyone else or the fact that Tim would have to go back to Gotham that afternoon while he spent another day in Florida with his family.

Sighing and determined to get in as much cuddling time with Tim as he could, he reached blindly towards the other side of the bed to draw him into his arms. Waking up yesterday had been so incredible. He’d never experienced something as great as having Tim practically buried in his chest. And then when he’d seen Tim at the wedding… He’d looked amazing and Jason wanted nothing more than to keep him for himself. He’d wondered if the kiss that he’d planted on his cheek had been a little much since they hadn’t done that type of PDA earlier in the week, except for when they went dancing, but Tim had kept it together regardless, even if he had blushed a little bit.

Jason’s brow furrowed. He moved his hand back and forth over the sheet on Tim’s side of the bed. The blanket had been pulled back and the mattress was cold, lacking any residual body heat.

“Tim?” he asked, cracking his eyes open. His side of the bed was indeed empty and he pushed himself into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Tim?”

He didn’t hear the water running in the bathroom but that didn’t mean that Tim wasn’t in there. Jason hopped out of bed and walked around the corner to look in the bathroom, becoming further confused when he found the door open and the light off.

“Where is he?” He looked behind him, thinking that he might’ve slipped onto the balcony but didn’t see him there either, it was only when he glanced down to where he’d left his bag that the full impact of what must’ve happened hit him.

“He…left?”

Jason felt like his world had just been wildly tilted on its side. Tim’s flight hadn’t been scheduled until later that afternoon, so why had he already left? Was he that desperate to get away from Jason? Did he hate having to pretend to be his boyfriend that much? He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and sagged forward, gaze trained on the floor.

He’d thought that Tim had enjoyed himself. And they’d become rather comfortable around each other. He was sure that if Tim had gotten another panicked phone call and that’s why he left earlier, Jason would have heard him and would’ve woken up. He wasn’t ready to give up his time with Tim yet.

He knew that it was coming and knew that he’d become far too attached to him since they’d been complete strangers at the start of the week, but he didn’t think that they’d just completely disappear from each other’s lives. He hadn’t even given much thought as to what would happen once the week came to a close or where it would put them.

“I guess I know now,” he sighed.

Jason looked over his shoulder at where Tim had slept next to him for the past seven days. His eyes caught sight of the bright red roses that were still laying on the bedside table. He got up and walked around the bed, picking the bouquet up to hold in his hands and turn it this way and that. He’d been surprised the night before by how attached Tim had gotten to the flowers.

After he’d somehow caught them, he hadn’t put them down, keeping them next to him on the table or fiddling with them in his lap. It was one of the reasons why Jason hadn’t asked him to dance again because he didn’t want to try and pull Tim away from the focus that he’d held for them. He’d wondered what the real reason was as to why he’d kept them with him. It was a meaningless arrangement of flowers. Tim had only gotten them because Dick insisted on having the chance to complete the tradition of throwing the bouquet. He loved doing cheesy things like that which were supposed to determine who the next person to get married was going to be.

Jason froze, the bouquet of flowers falling from his hands to land on the floor between his feet as a revelation slammed through him. He stood abruptly and began to pace across the carpeted floor.

“There’s no way. He’d never have feelings for me, but what if…”

Right after Dick had made a comment about them being the next couple getting married, Tim had gone very still. At the time, Jason had just assumed that it was because he was embarrassed and knew that it wasn’t going to happen because they were just there pretending and it was all a charade. But if Tim actually liked him and had inadvertently gotten fixated on the idea once it was brought up…

It would also explain why Tim hadn’t been able to put the flowers down the rest of the night. The thought had stayed with him and maybe, just maybe, he’d gotten as attached to Jason as Jason had gotten to Tim.

A beat passed before he was scrambling into action. He nearly dived across the bed in order to reach where he’d left his phone. He immediately searched for flights back to Gotham and found that the next one was in just over two hours. It was enough time. He could make it. He could make it and get back to Tim because that’s where he needed to be. Where he wanted to be.

Jason fumbled with his wallet as he hastily pulled it from his suitcase and pulled out his credit card. He booked the ticket so that he wouldn’t have to take the time to do it later and left his wallet and phone on the table to grab on his way out. He dug through the clothes in his suitcase, throwing things that he wouldn’t wear aside until he found something clean to put on.

He changed into the jeans and tee quickly before shoving his feet into his sneakers and grabbing his wallet and phone. He practically sprinted from the room and straight into Dick who was walking down the hallway.

“Jason!” Dick exclaimed, stumbling backwards. “What’s wrong? Is everything okay?

“I have to go. I have to get back to Gotham.” He turned towards the elevators, walking purposefully down the hallway, his focus zeroed in on getting to the airport as quickly as possible.

“Go back to Gotham? Why? What happened? And where’s Tim?”

Jason was grateful that the elevator doors opened almost immediately after he’d called for it and he could step inside. Dick followed him quickly.

“Tim left for Gotham this morning without telling me. I have to go to him.”

“But…I thought that was the plan? You told us that he was going to have to leave early today to get back because of his project deadline that was coming up.”

Jason slipped through the doors as soon as they started to open and stalked across the lobby floor. Dick rushed to catch up and grabbed ahold of his arm to stop him.

“His plane wasn’t scheduled to leave until this afternoon. He left without telling me and I have to go to him. I can’t let him keep thinking whatever’s going through his head about this whole situation.”

“Jason, you’re not making any sense. Maybe you should just calm down and wait a minute and you can try and explain what’s going on. What is Tim thinking that you’re so worried about?”

“You don’t understand,” Jason said, obviously frustrated.

“Maybe because you’re not actually telling me anything and refuse to explain the situation to me,” Dick huffed.

Jason turned to face Dick and pressed the hotel card for their room into his hand. “Have Bruce bring my suitcase back. I can’t let it end like this, Dick. I can’t let him go.”

Dick stared into Jason’s eyes, taking in his determined expression before nodding once. “Go get him.” Jason tried to walk away but Dick stopped him, earning a confused look from Jason. “And if this is all your fault, you better tell Tim just how much you care about him and how much you love him. Because I can see that you do and I’m sure that he’d appreciate hearing it a little more often.”

“Don’t worry, that’s exactly what I was planning on doing.”

Dick nodded and let his hand go and Jason rushed from the lobby. As soon as he passed through the sliding glass doors, Jason made a beeline for the row of taxis that were waiting in front of the hotel. He jumped into the first one and hurriedly instructed the driver to get to the airport.

The ride seemed like it took forever, leaving Jason to bite his nails and bounce his leg in the backseat.

“That’ll be $12.50,” the driver said as they pulled in front of the entrance to the airport.

“Keep the change,” Jason said, throwing a ten dollar bill and a five dollar bill at him. He shoved open the car door and sprinted inside. He was thankful that there was no line at the ticket counter as he pulled his license from his pocket and handed it to the worker. “Ticket for Jason Todd.”

She nodded at him, a little startled by his strong demands and impatience. She put in a few bits of information on the computer in front of him and waited as the boarding pass was printed. “Here you are…”

“Thanks!” Jason said, not waiting to listen to what else she had to say as he rushed off towards security.

He managed to calm himself down as he waited in line to go through the body scanner-mainly because he didn’t want to be pulled aside or detained. People weren’t normally this anxious when they were waiting to get on their flights and he didn’t want to have to explain everything about needing to get back to Gotham to confess to the guy that he liked after the misunderstanding that the two of them had over the past week.

Jason made a quick stop at one of the airport shops and grabbed himself some breakfast now that his stomach was making itself known. Once he got through eating and made it to his gate, the attendant was making the announcement that they were starting the boarding process. He was one of the last people because he’d just purchased his ticket a couple of hours before, but none of that mattered to him. What mattered was getting on his plane and getting back to Tim.

He thought that he’d be able to relax once they were off the ground, but it only made him painfully aware that he now had to wait a few hours before he could do anything. He was stuck in the air, unable to do anything or move around very much. He had no way to contact Tim and would be left at the mercy of his brain and what types of scenarios that it chose to dredge up for him and torture him with. He could only hope that when he got back to Gotham, Tim would be there at his apartment.

Jason’s flight from the airport to his apartment complex was almost as dramatic as his rush through the Florida airport. His anxiousness was probably far worse than it had been at the beginning of the day because he was close now. He was close to Tim and it wouldn’t be long before he’d be seeing him again and could explain everything to him.

He sprinted up the stairs of their building, not even considering taking the elevator and knocked loudly on Tim’s door as soon as he reached it. Instead of thinking that Tim might not be home, he was concerned with whether or not he should’ve brought something for Tim. He could’ve brought chocolates or flowers or even the bouquet from the night before that Tim hadn’t been able to put down. Maybe he could text Dick later and tell him to bring that back with his bag. Tim would probably hate him for it, but at that moment he didn’t care.

After several painful moments, the door was pulled open. Tim was staring towards the floor and he raised his eyes slowly until they settled on Jason’s face and widened, mouth dropping open. Jason felt his heart clench painfully in his chest at the sight of Tim’s red eyes. He had tears clinging to his eyelashes and was sniffling. Jason wondered how long he’d been crying and hated that he was the one who’d done this to him. He wanted to be the one to make Tim happy. He wanted to make Tim laugh and smile, not cry.

“Jason!” Tim squeaked. He stepped back, aiming to close the door on him, but Jason had already come this far and he wasn’t about to let him get away. He pushed through the door and shut it behind him.

Tim’s eyes were trained on the ground as he refused to look at him.

“Tim…” Jason said softly. He watched Tim shut his eyes against the words and his hands balled into fists at his sides, almost as though he was trying to block all of this out. Maybe he thought that this wasn’t really happening, or maybe he didn’t want to read into it more than what he thought was actually there.

Jason sighed and walked forward slowly, giving Tim enough time to walk away if he wanted to. He wouldn’t push him, but he did want to tell Tim exactly how he felt. He gently cupped Tim’s face in both of his hands and turned it so that he was looking at him. Fresh tears welled at the corners of his eyes and Jason hated that this was probably his fault for not going to Tim sooner.

“Tim…” he said again. “I don’t know if a week is enough time for me to have fallen in love with you…”

Tim’s eyes immediately widened at the words.

“But I can sure as hell say that I stopped pretending to have feelings for you sometime during this past week. You’ve come to mean so much to me and I’m not about to let you go after you wormed your way into my heart, you ass.”

Tim giggled. It was a little wet and it caused the tears that had collected around the edges of his eyes to spill, but it was a happy laugh and that’s exactly what Jason had been wanting. Tentatively, Tim reached out and grasped Jason’s shirt, twisting the fabric in his fist.

“I’m going to kiss you now, okay?” he asked, ducking his head so that his breath ghosted over Tim’s lips as he breathed every word.

“Okay,” Tim answered, eyelids already dropping in anticipation.

Jason closed the gap between them, bringing their lips together softly. It was so different from the intense and practically filthy kiss they’d shared days ago, but it was perfect. It held no reservations and signaled the beginning of something new. Tim sighed when Jason pulled back. He was smiling now and looked far less upset than before.

“Wait a minute…what are you doing back in Gotham?!” Tim asked, pulling back to look at Jason’s face.

“It took you this long to actually ask me that question?” Jason chuckled.

“Forgive me, I was trying to figure out if you were really here or not or if I was just imagining things.”

“Come on,” Jason said, tangling their fingers together. “Let’s go sit on the couch and I can tell you what happened.”

Jason leaned up against the arm of the couch and made himself comfortable before pulling Tim down to rest between his legs, head propped up on his chest. He looped his arms loosely around Tim’s waist before he started to talk.

“When I woke up this morning and found out that you were gone I was really confused. I thought that you’d left early because you didn’t want to have to hang around and pretend anymore and that hurt. A lot.”

He noticed Tim wince and squeezed him closer to know that it was okay.

“But then I got to thinking and remembered how focused you were the night before with the bouquet. I didn’t want to believe it at first, but it gave me hope that you just might share my feelings. So I booked the next flight to Gotham and raced to the airport, not even bothering to bring my suitcase with me. And then I showed up here.”

“Oh,” Tim said, voice small. “I left because I thought that there was no way that you could feel the same way,” he said, curling further into Jason’s chest. “I thought that I’d just have to deal with all of my feelings myself and rather than make things awkward by trying to explain my feelings to you, I resigned myself to coming back to Gotham and dealing with this myself.”

“Looks like we’re both pretty bad at communicating,” Jason said. “I guess we’ll have to work on that.”

“Only if we can work on it together,” Tim said, tipping his head back to look up at him.

“Absolutely.” Jason dipped his head and captured Tim’s lips in another kiss. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and groaned as he had to wiggle around to try and get it out. He ended up jostling Tim a couple of times in the process, but that only made him laugh.

Tim closed his eyes and sighed as Jason read over the new text that he’d gotten.

_Dick: How’d it go? Is everything fixed between you and Tim?_

Jason glanced down at where Tim’s head was pillowed on his chest, eyes closed, and soft smile gracing his lips. It brought a smile to his own face and caused warmth to bloom in his chest.

_Jason: Yeah. Everything’s great. Just do me one favor, when you get my bag packed, make sure to grab the bouquet from the floor and bring it back too. I think Tim would like to keep it._

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback, comments, and kudos are always loved and appreciated.
> 
> Tumblr: my-one-love-is-music.tumblr.com
> 
> Twitter: twitter.com/m_o_l_i_m


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